


The Crystal Heart

by Itarile_1



Category: W.I.T.C.H.
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Canon - Comics, Comic, Crystal Heart - Freeform, Drama, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Friendship, Guardians - Freeform, Heartache, Love, Magic, Magical Girls, Meridian, Mix of cartoon and comic, Older Characters, Phobos - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, W.i.t.c.h - Freeform, War, Will Vandom - Freeform, Worldbuilding, cartoon, kandrakar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 51,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24591646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itarile_1/pseuds/Itarile_1
Summary: Secrets hide deep in the shadows and everything is not as it seems. When you have to choose between your sacred duty and burning feelings, what path would you take? With every new step Will have to pick where to go as even the smallest decision can alter the direct course of the path already taken. The price of every secret uncovered may be steep, and the payment of it could cost her heart...
Relationships: Phobos Escanor/Will Vandom
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. Prologue

**Hello:)**

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H comics or cartoon.**

**Firstly, I want to say, that this story is AU, I mostly rely on comics, because I liked them more and they look more beautiful, but there may be some things from cartoon. So basically this story is a a mash between comic, cartoon and my own creation.**

**Secondly, everyone looks like their comics appearance, especially Phobos, he was ugly in cartoon.**

**Thirdly, this story will have rating T, later it can go to M, read at your own risk and don't complain if you did not read the warning.**

**Fourthly, everyone in this story is much older than in original universe. 13-14 years old, to me is just a No. Mainly, because this story is too mature to write about young teenagers. Girls will be around 17-18 years old (I remind this later as story goes, people not always read warnings :D)**

**Fifthly, sorry for mistakes, if you have any questions pm me or write in comments.**

**Happy reading! :)**

PROLOGUE

Drip… drop… drip…drop… water dribbled and echoed in the large underground cavern.

Something bothered him… annoying sound and warm liquid dropping on his arm. He did not want to wake up… it was so peaceful in his mind…never ending white fog and pleasant warmth…

'Leave me alone'…

Energy burned inside… warm…too warm… hot…painful… 'Please…stop! It hurts!'

The male gasped with difficulty as the curse Seal on him broke shattering into a thousand shards and he awakened… magic thrummed in his blood electrifying, consuming, overwhelming… He screamed in agony when it ignited his frail body scorching everything in its path, painfully caressing his muddled mind and unused muscles, healing all damage it could find. Gradually it retreated to the dormant state eagerly waiting to be used again, like a long forgotten friend finally reunited with its master.

When he was finally aware of the surroundings silence greeted him. Yet male was not alone someone was beside him, gasping for breath and silently sobbing… a woman miserably crying…

He opened eyes to the familiar green light blinding him. Blinking he looked around, he was lying on the white marble altar in a cavern, surrounded by the sea of roses. On a golden pedestal above him green crystal floated coloring the cavern in warm light. It blinked cheery greeting and he smiled because it was a dear friend.

Male sat and marveled at his splendid body. Young and lean, powerful muscles working effortlessly. The Seal worked, keeping him in a static shape, freezing time. He chuckled as the only thing that changed was a curtain of long pale hair dropping on a sacred ground all around him. Even his white silk tunic was the same he fell asleep in.

'Guardian?' the person was startled from his thoughts forgetting he was not alone. There was a woman kneeling on the ground beside the grand altar, looking at him in amazed wonder.

'Guardian, I sincerely apologize for awaking you, but I had no choice!' she guilty lowered her head looking at the ground. The woman was gorgeous, her long auburn hair was braided and had a red sheen in it. Her head was adorned with a delicate crown with a big purple gem in the middle of it. She wore a green dress embroidered with golden flowers on the ample skirts which puffed around her on the ground. Her face was flawless and noble, but the deep sky-blue eyes were overflowing with tears.

'I'm ashamed, Guardian… This place, the Temple and the Heart it's exposed and I require your help…' she cried in sincere sorrow looking at him pleadingly.

'Tell me, dear child, how long I was asleep?' he sighed 'and who are you?'

'Oh… where are my manners?' woman stood and did a graceful curtsy 'I am Queen Weira the Light of Meridian, currently 14th generation Queen in Metamoor. The only royal faithfully keeping your Seal in place… I don't know how long you have been sealed here… but it was a long time ago, my mother before me and grandmother were also keepers of this Temple…' she answered 'I failed this sacred task! Now because of me everything is in danger…' woman sniffed, and the lonely tear traveled her pale cheek. The male slowly reached down and gently brushed the tear away. So much profound sorrow was in her eyes. He flicked his hand and the ground parted, roots shoot up from the mud, wrapping, twisting, rolling around, and forming a perfectly natural bench. 'Sit and talk. I want to know everything.' he ordered, sitting up on the marble altar.

'I don't know where to start…' Weira said squeezing her trembling hands in the skirts 'I guess it started because of my carelessness. You see Metamoor is a peaceful kingdom. The last war had been a hundred years ago, so I had no reason to be on guard. All the Queens are acting as Light on Meridian defending the planet, because you granted powers to the royal family long time ago, relinquishing your duties. Guardians and the Heart of Meridian became a legend, a fairy tale we read to our children before bed. And I read it too, to my son. A brilliant boy of age of six… my sole child…' she sniffed 'he liked that tale so much, but I knew that some Legends contain truths in it. In my foolishness I told my son about you sleeping under the castle and I guess it stuck with him… Children possess so much imagination…' another tear traveled down the cheek and Weira's voice wavered 'one day he got too curious and followed me into the Temple… you see he is of royal blood, even if he could not inherit the throne. The Temple's security not worked on him since he came with me, that was a mistake on my part… you have no idea how happy my boy was…he liked playing here' Weira cracked a small smile '…and brush your hair…' she chuckled 'with my magic I made him swear to never tell anyone about this place, for it is sacred and has to be kept a secret… and yet he was tricked and deceived…my boy… my beautiful son…' the Queen wept 'my magic warned me about the danger in the morning, but I don't know to who he revealed this secret, because I was too late…'

Weira knelt on the ground as if praying and her enormous magical power filled the cavern, beside her knees in bluish light materialized a small figure. It was a child. A boy with long pale hair and ashen face, clothed in a purple tunic and white pants. The Queen gently cradled the child into the loose embrace and wailed '…he's gone… poisoned… I have all this magic on my fingers, and I could not save him… he died in my arms an hour ago… and the Temple's secret is out… somebody desires power and your abilities… the Heart of Meridian… this planet Heart… therefore, I came here and poured my powers into the Seal hopping it would revive you… please help me…because I don't know what to do…' Weira's pleading eyes pierced into him as she gently rocked the lifeless body in her arms.

'I cannot resurrect the dead.' male said truthfully and the woman crumpled wailing on the ground. 'The only thing I can do is keep The Heart of Meridian safe, because I am this planet Guardian… the first one to born and the last one to die' he took a few steps and knelt beside the woman. 'Do not weep, my child, because your boy is safe. Joined with the others inside our planet's Heart… We are its power and it are ours. The never-ending cycle of death and rebirth' he gently took the boy from the Queen's arms and laid him on the ground. With one thought green crystal flew into his palm surrounding them with radiant light 'if you want I can give him proper burial here in this place' he smiled 'and I will give this Heart to you. With Queen of Meridian as its keeper, it should be secure. Only your death would release it.'

Vivid green light surrounded the Queen as the sacred crystal was softly pushed into her body. It felt warm and light, like a thick blanket on a frosty day and Weira gasped as it settled in her heart, gently pulsing like a second heartbeat.

'What about you?' she respectfully asked looking into the magnificent creature she woke up.

'Me?' he tilted his head 'I would like to see, what my world has become…'

Weira felt a pang in her chest. She was the one who awakened him, there was a responsibility for the mistakes done. Looking miserably at her deceased son's body Weira wanted to cry and wail and mourn, but the improper idea formed in her mind 'Take my child…' she bitterly murmured 'become the first prince of Meridian and my son. This way we could find out who murdered him… I will take care of you like I have done all these years until now… maybe it will redeem my sins to you…' she said humbly bowing her head.

'Very well…' male said 'just so you know my memories will meld with your child. I will be your son, yet will remain myself. The old soul in young body, the mixture of two beings. His appearance while similar to mine will change. I will look like him, but few of my features will appear. Like longer hair and red tattoo on the neck, the Guardian sign, The Heart of Meridian sign. The symbol of two triangles with a circle in the middle. I think you could tell everybody who ask, you put it on for the protection of the prince.'

'It's also the Crest of royal family, nobody would ask if it is manifested on your body…' Weira whispered.

The Guardian placed his palm on the child's heart and started to pour his essence, power and magic into it. Molding, carefully shaping it to fill and fit the small container. As he breathed in and exhaled, his mind slipped and body slowly dissolved into the concentrated light ball. Pulsing brightly it immersed into the child, the boy glowed from inside with received power. He grew in height, and a childlike face got more prominent cheekbones while the baby fat disappeared. His hair got lighter, almost white and long enough to reach the ground. The most visible change was a red tattoo on the neck. The child opened his eyes. It felt odd to be this small and was quite disorientating. Memories poured inside his mind, carefree days and loving parents… the last moments…pain and fear…peace.

'What is my name?' childish voice asked as he examined his mother's beautiful blue eyes.

'Phobos… your name is Phobos.' she smiled tenderly and clasped his hand…


	2. Chapter 1

Will Vandom panted as her power dried out bit by bit trying to battle soldier squad surrounding them. Other girls were no better than her, all dirty and battered. She knew they would inevitably lose if this continued for any longer. Being so close to the castle soldiers just kept coming. The girls did not possess enough magical strength to fight anymore. As their mission was practically over and the last person slipped into the portal Will shouted a direct command ‘Guardians, get going, we are done here!’ they darted around soldiers running as fast as could, but the swirling portal was too far away, and more time was needed to escape.  
‘Hey freaks, come and get me!’ she shouted fiercely and darted back to the castle. Few dozen monsters followed her, trying to shoot the fleeing form ‘Just a little more...’ Will thought frantically trying to reach the wall for better hideout. She was tired and gotten too slow. It took just a second to look back and see the girls disappearing into the portal and that critical second was her mistake.  
Agonizing pain… so much pain instantly shocked her body that she let out an involuntary scream hitting the base of the wall with a hard thud. Her back hurt, there was an arrow protruding from her butterfly wing, piercing the shoulder. ‘Just a little bit more...’ Will acutely felt the hot blood flow down her uniform, but she scaled the wall having no other choice. The rocks vibrated with enchantments, but somehow did not hurt her with defensive magic. It was strange, but there was no time to ponder about that. The rigid surface sliced into her palms and Will could hear the arrows impacting against the wall and falling without finding their intended target. Some soldiers followed her, but were too heavy and slid down on the damp rocks. She hurt badly and heavily panted taking the huge gulps of air, but did not stop her ascend. For a second the world tilted when the top was reached. Will stumbled awkwardly and allowed herself fall across a castle wall, there was no strength left to continue. The last perceived thing saw was the color green below, before dropping like a stone, praying she would survive the descent.  
The first thing Will noticed was her body burning in agony. The back hurt and pricking pain in the chest made every shallow breath like fire. She coughed and chocked feeling probably cracked ribs. There was a metallic taste in the mouth and blood bubbling behind the teeth. Tears leaked from her eyes, but Will could not open them properly, it hurt too much. Is that how dying felt like? Suddenly her magical senses hummed under the skin giving her an urgent warning, she was not alone. Someone was gently walking on the lush grass silently stopping beside her. Will was afraid, if this was a possible enemy she would die or worse be tortured to death so tears had fallen faster. She did not want her life to end like this. At that point a soft hand gently covered her eyes blocking the vision and Will panicked trashing on the ground gasping for every breath, but getting none.  
‘Shhhhhh…’ deep silky voice comforted as her consciousness slowly faded, yet she felt so warm like submerging into the hot water. The dreadful pain gradually retreated… there was a pleasant fragrance surrounding her ‘What a lovely smell…’ she thought, ‘like a sandalwood, exotic spices, sugar and roses…’ soft sight left the rosy lips, and Will knew no more.  
Second time she woke up it was dark. Her head was heavy and filled with buzz. It was hard to think. It was like she conveniently forgot something, and the peculiar feeling nagged in her brain. The ground was moist and chilly wind blew in small gusts stirring the grass. Will shuddered in damp clothing and moaned as the pain in her wounded shoulder reminded itself. It was difficult to move, but she slowly stood up and carefully favoring the left side looked around. It seemed more than a few hours passed after the battle, because the sky was getting darker. She landed in a garden just under the wall. Will took a few steps farther inside and gasped as the clearing revealed itself in all its pristine glory. Rosebushes surrounded her, so many gorgeous flowers of various colors. The black, rosy red, deep crimson, luminous blue, and other shades, some she never saw on the Earth. Some roses were tall towering above, others small like a thumbnail just sprouting off the ground. Blooms glistened as the evening dew naturally formed small crystal drops on the delicate petals and the intoxicated fragrance almost hypnotized her. The luscious grass was so vibrant and soft Will wanted nothing more just to lay down and marvel at the rare beauty all around. Somewhere she heard a waterfall. The water cascaded from rocks joyfully gurgling into the stream. She gently caressed the soft rose beside her. It was so perfect as if created by something else. ‘Magic... This whole garden was created by magic!’ her heartbeat quickened. Only one person who could do such thing in all of the Meridian and Will did not have the strength to oppose him now. It seemed air around her started to eagerly vibrate with tension and anticipation. Suddenly the garden relaxed as if taking a contented sigh. However, her awareness buzzed like electricity in the air and muscles tensed as if preparing for a fight of flight moment, and then she saw Him. Barefoot he walked into the clearing with pale hair stretched out on the ground behind. The edge of his bluish silk robe trailed on the dewy grass, but not a speck of dirt or dust was on him.  
‘Guardian…’ the unmistakable male greeted her with a small inkling of head and a slight smile. It did not reach his blue eyes. They were like ice, cold and unforgiving also piercing as if penetrating her. The Hearth of Kandrakar pulsed under her uniform as Phobos intentionally released his overwhelming power into the clearing. It felt like she was squeezed from every side, but Will refused to drop on the ground even as her legs uncontrollably shook with the strain to remain upright.  
‘Interesting…’ he smirked and the pull lessened ‘so to who I owe the pleasure of seeing you this fine evening?’ Phobos inquired ‘No greeting, I see, where are your manners Guardian?’  
‘Phobos…’ Will muttered, but defiantly refused to lower her eyes and looked straight at him seeming braver than she felt inside.  
‘Oh, such reckless courage…’ he chuckled with delight as if reading her mind ‘and it’s Prince Phobos to you!’  
Suddenly she was flying backwards hitting the wall with painful cry. Blood dripped around as her wing was crushed into the rocks and the injury bled again. He seized her by the throat lifting from the ground to his eye level ‘I could kill you here and now… you Guardians are a prickly thorn in my side… it would be so easy just…’ he tenderly whispered leaning into her and tightened the hold on the neck restricting the airflow. Will was tense like a string trying not to forcibly move as her legs dangled in the air. She was completely at his mercy. Never in her life had she felt so vulnerable, yet with every difficult breath more alive. Goosebumps spread on her skin when his warm breath tickled her ear. Yet, the pain sharp as a knife from the wound pushed into the rock interfered with her thinking. The seconds ticked by and her battered body felt strained with the tense muscles and the intensity of the unfamiliar feelings. Will could not move, not even an inch and the Hearth of Kandrakar stayed silent on her chest as if there was no imminent danger. Her mind came to a sudden halt when Phobos stopped strangling her. His head gently thumped on her shoulder Will could feel his silky hair caressing her cheek. He slowly relaxed releasing her from his hold.  
‘Go, Guardian! Return home, before I change my mind…’ he solemnly whispered and retreated back into the clearing looking at her disheveled form with cold unreadable expression. Will slumped on the ground, but using the given opportunity gathered her strength and ran vanishing into overgrown greenery.  
‘She is so young and innocent…’ Phobos thought, lightly caressing a blooming rose. With each touch petals cut into his elegant fingers and crimson blood trickled to the ground, landing on the grass like red rubies.


	3. Chapter 2

Will ran out of the castle, strangely it was quite easy, as if the direct path was cleared just for her. Not thinking much, just feeling glad at the safe passage, she cupped the Heart of Kandrakar in her palms and opened a small portal jumping into the radiant vortex. She stumbled out of the gate and landed on her knees in gritty sand. Looking at her injured shoulder, which already started to heal, Will wondered if she should cancel her transformation. Gathering wits Will bit into her lip trying to hold in a scream when soft pink light surrounded her canceling the magic out. Even with their magical powers injuries and scrapes were a common thing. The Guardians were more durable than the average human and healed much faster, but in reality even with their elemental powers, they always spilled blood. That was a nature of fighting and Will took responsibility in her mission, to protect the innocent, even if a cost for it was pain. She favored her left shoulder as heavy injuries sometimes transferred into her human form, like a huge black and blue bruise. It was early morning on the Earth, and Will was glad nobody was nearby to see her battered form. Her belly rumbled and hands shook, as the transformation always took lots of energy out of her, she needed something to eat. Hoping girls got out alright and waited for her in Cornelia’s home Will was walked down the empty streets. This time, girls planned a sleep over there, so that nobody would question where they disappeared in the middle of the evening. Thinking about her friends made her frown. What should she tell them? Everything seemed like a delirious dream. Girls would never believe Phobos allowed her to go without a fight. She tentatively touched the sore throat, well not exactly a fight. Will shuddered with unexplained feelings recognizing the absolute control he had of her body, just one move from his hand and she would have been dead… It was wrong, so wrong and yet…

Also that private garden such beautiful elegant and peaceful place, it just made no sense. Everything she knew about Metamoor made no sense. Every battle they had from fighting with rebels for the freedom, to every portal closed and people they saved, everything portrayed a terrible picture. However, Phobos let her free… her mind moved in circles… He just let her go… that was a huge contradiction in the dreadful things she learned about him.

There was a light in house the girls were waiting for her. Luckily for them, Cornelia’s family were away for the weekend and allowed them to have a sleepover. Will silently slipped in the corridor and had her breath knocked out as Taranee barreled into her squeezing with an unexpected hug.

‘Will, are you all right? What happened?’ she frantically asked as other girls promptly joined her.

‘We were so worried, you just disappeared…’ Cornelia frowned ‘You look like crap...’ she gripped her arm and guided her to the sofa.

‘Eat, and tell us what happened.’ Hay Lin pushed cold pizza to into her arms and put orange juice on the table.

‘Spill your story…’ said Irma curled up on the plush carpet. ‘We wanted to go back, but the portal closed and without you we could not find another one linked near the castle. So don’t keep us waiting. It was really hard to do nothing and wait around.’

Will took a huge bite of the delicious pizza and looked at girls comfortably settled on the various surfaces in the living room. Eagerly taking another huge bite and chewing it slowly she wondered what to divulge.

‘I fell…’ Will started slowly ‘I wanted to provide you more time to reach the portal and the next thing I know my shoulder was injured by the stray arrow… that hurt so much… and I just climbed to safety and fell over the castle wall…’

‘Wait a minute, you tell us that you took a tumble from approximately twenty meter castle wall and everything is good?’ Taranee raised her head from a pillow looking at her in dubious disbelief.

‘Yeah, but I am not alright, my back is killing me. I think the Hearth of Kandrakar protected me somehow…’ Will winced as her pendant slowly pulsed under the sweater and small surprising memory of the soft ‘Shhhhh...’ surfaced into her mind. She did not know where it came from, but something told her not to say anything about what happened. The medallion pulsed again, gently heating the skin and stilling as if encouraging to remain silent.

‘I don’t know how long I was out, but it was dark when I woke up. Everything was calmed down, so I got out of the castle very quickly. It was kind of easy, because nobody was nearby. I guess at night the usual patrols did not find me unconscious in the middle of some bushes… and here I am’ Will continued trying not to look anyone in the eyes ‘luck was on my side tonight…’ she lied feeling guilty for hiding the truth. Nobody would believe if she recounted the real story and girls would be horrified about it more than she was.

‘Unbelievable…’ Cornelia shook her head, ‘you are fortunate to be alive, I kind of want to hit you for making us so worried…’ she threw a plump pillow at Will’s head. It landed by her feet and girls laughed in relief, because everything ended on a good note.

‘I don’t know about you guys, but I am sleepy and sleeping standing up does not sound pleasant’ Irma yawned ‘we should probably go to bed.’

‘I agree.’ Hay Lin stood up and gathered empty boxes from the table. Taranee followed her with cans and other garbage in her hands. Girls dispersed into the two rooms they shared and Will dragged herself to the shower. The hot water felt like heaven washing away the grime and sweat from the skin. It pounded on her sore back, and she winced feeling the newly formed bruises. Everything what happened hit her like a ton of bricks, and Will crumbled on the tiles sobbing from overwhelming feelings. All that hate, fear, pain just poured out with heated tears and were washed away by water. Phobos released her, she silently sobbed with relief and disbelief. He could have easily killed her with one move from his fingers, yet she was alive… How can they oppose him when even all their powers combined were not equal to his strength? A year ago, girls got their Guardian’s magic from the Kandrakar and were thrust into the war they did not quite understand. The Oracle informed them that Guardians protected the Veil a shroud dividing Earth, Metamoor and Kandrakar, the sacred place of all the magic in the universe. That the Veil was raised to prevent Phobos from spreading his evil to the rest of the worlds, but all she saw in Metamoor was a civil war. The harsh and tyrannical ruler was trying to ruthlessly crush the rebels, which fought for the rightful heir of the throne, the missing sister of Phobos. The war was ravaging country, and people suffered. Yet the Oracle said Phobos evil magic was killing the planet. So they believed him and aided the rebels. Guardians liberated the people and kept them safe. Helping with food supplies in the camps, at the same time getting vulnerable refugees across the universes and closing the portals from being used by the soldiers. It seemed like the right thing to do and the girls committed to fighting. Now for the first time Will’s faith faltered. The enemy who could slay them without a second thought, was more complicated than they knew. It seemed something was missing from the bigger picture and what she knew did not fit right.

With that thought a soft rosy light filled the shower cubicle and Will opened her eyes in mild wonder. The Heart of Kandrakar rose from her chest and slowly swayed in the air pulsing with warmth.

‘What do you want to tell me?’ she gently took the pendant in her palm. Old, sentient light spilled through her fingers. Eager anticipation and hope filled her heart, as if waiting for her to finally seek the right questions. The moment was interrupted by knocking on the door and pendant dropped into her hand cold and silent once again.

‘Will are you alright?’ Cornelia’s muffled voice asked. ‘You were in the shower for almost an hour?’

‘Just a minute!’ she shouted and wrapped a towel around her body. Taking another one to dry her hair Will opened the door ‘you can come in I need your help anyway’ she said rubbing her head and motioning at her back. Cornelia gasped when she observed her friend’s body. Will’s back was one big blue and purple bruise with a few smaller spots littering her neck and another one on her ribs.

‘Why didn’t you say anything? Cornelia scolded directing her to sit on the toilet seat.

‘It does not hurt much, the worst bruises should be gone after day with our enchanted healing’ Will shrugged.

‘If your mom saw that, what would you say? Will you look like someone mistook you for a punching bag’ Cornelia frowned impatiently tugging the towel down and tucking it around Will’s legs. It was not the first time she was naked around the other girl. They saw each other in various stages of nudity with all the injuries they got, and the blonde was their only healer. It still embarrassed her, especially when Cornelia looked like a goddess, and she felt inadequate around her beauty. Will always felt like an odd one around the girls. She was sporty and lean, with the smaller chest and much more prominent muscles from the swimming. Her short red hair and brown eyes were nothing special. She was average and sometimes girls just unconsciously made her feel self-doubt. Green light surrounded Cornelia’s palms as she pushed Earth energy into the injuries. It had a sensation like a warm mud was placed on the skin sucking away all impurities. Everything hurt worse when the healing began, but the visible bruises gradually subsided leaving just the pink sensitive skin.

‘Thank you…’ Will relaxed when the pressure which unconsciously made her tense left the body ‘you should go to sleep, I just finish here and will come too’ she yawned.

After a few minutes as she was finally safe in the bed listening to the silent breathing of the girls. A forbidden image of Phobos gracefully gliding in the clearing surfaced into her mind. ‘Beautiful…’ Will silently whispered a banned thought and slowly fallen asleep dreaming of the blooming roses.


	4. Chapter 3

A week after the battle came and passed calmly. She attended school, did homework, gone home or to the swimming pool, talked to the girls and worked in the pet shop on spare time. It was good to feel normal again with no responsibility for people lives, just doing ordinary everyday things. On Saturday girls gathered in Silver Dragon for battle discussions. They selected a table at the back of the restaurant and Hay Lin brought few snacks with fragrant tea.

'I have news' Cornelia started 'this morning Caleb sent me an urgent message with information that Phobos right hand was dispatched to Heatherfield. Rebels suspect he's on a mission to find the missing heir, but they are unsure about it. Once again army is in Phobos command because he sent head general away.'

'Great, another ugly fugly in our city,' Irma mumbled 'as if we need more monsters in our lives' she rolled eyes.

'What about our families? Can they be in danger, does he know our appearance on Earth?' Taranee worried.

'Probably not, our powers come with a small glamour on us when we transform.' Will explained taking a sip of green tea 'on the other hand, we do not know what powers general has and how do they work on Earth.'

'We should be more careful… the phrase "do not talk to strangers" never felt so right.' Hay Lin laughed 'actually, we can paraphrase it into "do not talk with any strange guys"' she tapped her chin and took a bite of a cookie. 'I wonder how he looks. I don't know about you guys, but did you noticed that all humanoid males on Meridian look unusually good? Phobos sure is a hottie… I mean in aesthetic sense…' she giggled with hidden mirth in her eyes.

'Ewww, did you forget he is an evil incarnate?' Cornelia cried out looking horrified.

'I don't know… not interested.' Taranee shrugged 'Sure Caleb is a good-looking guy, but not to my taste. Quit looking at me like that Cornelia, we all know you have a crush on him. I like Nigel… he's nice…' she scolded the blonde girl and blushed thinking about the one male she felt comfortable with, beside her brother.

'Caleb is kind of hot and in another world, so it's not like I have many opportunities to see him. He does not know me as Cornelia Hale the Earth girl, but as an Earth Guardian, it's complicated…' she regretfully sighed.

'Well in my not so humble opinion' Irma started 'Phobos is beautiful outside and rotten to the core inside. I think, sometimes power just corrupt people and we have to fight that.' She munched on a bread-stick.

'Yeah he is powerful. Still, males there are so refined, but I guess different culture will do that to people' Hay Lin agreed. 'Will, what you think?' she promptly asked seeing her friend in deep thoughts looking outside the window. Her tea was getting cold.

Will flinched startled out of her daydreaming. She didn't want to join the conversation as the idea of it struck to close to home and made her feel guilty. Handsome, refined, powerful, rotten to the core all that words fitted every Phobos description they knew about. Merciful not really, prone to odd decisions even stranger. 'Mysterious' Will thought. A perplexing mystery she wanted to solve, but was too frightened to even think about. She could not even explain the personal doubts she harbored to the girls.

'I don't think about such things.' Will placed her head on the table suddenly feeling tired 'I just don't want to meet this general any time soon… we had enough of fighting this month. Where is Elyon, did she not agree to meet us?' she wearily asked trying to redirect their attention elsewhere.

'Could not make it. She seems rather distant lately, but does not tell me why.' Cornelia answered feeling a bit miffed. Elyon was her best friend, but they started to see each other less as if drifting apart.

'Maybe our secret is putting strain on our friendship' Taranee muttered 'it's not like we can include her into our battle meetings or fighting monsters in the different world' she sighed.

'Yeah, maybe… Sorry girls, I agreed to feed the animals in the shop with Mr. Olsen' Will apologized glancing at the clock. 'I should go if I want to be there in time. Call me about anything new. See you later!' she said urgently grabbing her backpack and running out of the restaurant.

When she got to the shop Mr. Olsen's had already putted closed sight up, but there was a light inside. A bell rang as Will stepped through the door.

'Good evening Mr. Olsen!' she called out to the empty shop front. Few of the animals answered to her with various calls. 'Hey, guys! I came here to feed you' she greeted the pets in the cages and smiled at the huge St. Bernard dog who barked and whipped his tail.

'He's our new patient' Matt said coming from the back door with a huge sack of dog food. 'Hi, Will, I already fed the animals in the back, but you can help me here.' he smiled in absentminded manner trying to put the big bag on the floor for easier access.

Will's heart fluttered while seeing Matt. She had a crush on him from the first day at the new school, when he kindly helped her to find the right class. 'I did not know you would be here… Where is your grandpa?' she inquired taking a few bowls with food from him.

'His back hurts again, so I volunteered for the feeding. The sacks can be quite heavy so here I am helping.' Matt shrugged 'and the customer should come here for the big dog' he motioned at St. Bernard. They got to work like a few times before. Matt cleaned the cages, and Will took the bowls of food and water to the pets. She always relaxed around the animals so conversation flowed back and forth about various things without her feeling too nervous. They were a good team together and had many similar interests. She looked longingly at Matt playing with an injured cat, he was so gentle cradling pet in his arms. Will went to the backroom closet for more cat food feeling mindless jealousy to the animal and grumbling at herself for thinking such things. Taking a box from the shelf, she tripped on the nearby mop handle. The can's fell loudly on the floor and rolled in all directions as she tumbled and landed on her but.

'Will are you alright? I heard some noise and…' Matt ran inside and looked around seeing all the cans on the ground 'Klutz attack?' he asked laughing out loud.

'Sorry…just help me pick it up, please?' Will was embarrassed. It seemed she would never be a cool girl around Matt, and that was not fair. She went to the battles, but could not even talk with a guy without some silly incident. Feeling frustrated with herself Will picked up a few cans from the ground while placing them on the proper shelf she stepped on something round. Stumbling again Will shouted in surprise and landed on warm body. He smelled like laundry detergent and soap. She discreetly inhaled the sweet and pleasant smell secretly enjoying his arms around her. It took just a second to get her bearings, so she quickly stood up and blushed. For a moment it seemed like her heart wanted to escape from the chest. Matt was awkwardly sitting on the ground looking a bit disheveled. 'Will, I know…' he started talking looking at her in dismay when a bell in front of the shop jingled. He stood up, patted his rumpled clothes and with a guilty glance in her direction went to the shop's front. Slowly gathering the cans Will was confused, trying to understand what went wrong. Matt was acting a bit strange. Her fall was only an accident, and yet he looked cagey with her. Was she so transparent to him about her feelings? Arranging everything in order, she took the rest of the cat food to the backroom and overheard a feminine voice conversing with Matt.

'So how was my good boy?' girl asked in sickly cooing voice.

'Your dog ate something rotten and had a stomach ache. He's aright now' Matt answered reassuringly.

'So, can we go on our date now?' the female almost purred the question out.

'Yes, just let me tell my coworker she should lock up the shop.' Matt replied enthusiastically and opened the door to the backroom. For a moment he looked distraught seeing her standing there.

'You heard that, just now?' Matt suspiciously asked in tense voice closing the door, avoiding looking at her. 'We should really talk later…just…just lock up the shop, please…' he hesitated then inclined his head in farewell and went out not waiting for her answer.

Will froze on the spot hearing the door closing. Her mind was strangely empty as if trying to make sense of the unthinkable things she heard. It hurt and bitter tears gathered in her eyes, while the heart throbbed painfully inside her chest. Will did not let them fall she was too proud to cry here. Swallowing the burning feelings, she methodically finished feeding the animals. Sensing her depressed mood, they were very quiet and subdued, sometimes licking her fingers in comforting manner. After finishing the work and locking up the shop Will walked in the streets slowly going into direction of home. Tears spilled on her cheeks as she softly sobbed trying to silence any sounds from escaping. This was a missing thing. Matt had a girlfriend, and she was so silly to naively believe that maybe he liked her. She was a fool and gotten hurt for liking a popular guy. Life was unfair.

Home was dark and empty, her mom probably went out on a date. It looked like even mother was more popular than her. Not feeling hungry Will wrapped herself in a soft blanket and cried. She considered calling Taranee, but it was late and she did not want to hear any empty words of comfort, yet she felt so lonely. Gently cupping the medallion in the palms Will prayed 'Heart of Kandrakar, I will not use your divine power for selfish reasons, but just lent me your warmth… I don't wish to be alone tonight… please don't leave me alone…' she sniffed as her tears fallen on the damp pillow. Sobbing bitterly Will finally fell asleep with a pendant still safely clutched in her palm. The Heart of Kandrakar glittered in the dark, then shined, slowly engulfing her unconscious body into the hazy rosy light.

The first thing she became aware of was a fire cracking in the fireplace, next was silky fur under her. The room smelt strange like bee wax, old books, smoke and something sweet almost flowery, she never experienced such fragrance. Will opened her brown eyes and sat up on furry carpet by the glowing fire. She clearly was in a private study or an unfamiliar library. Rows upon rows of books were lined along the walls with bookshelves hitting into the ceiling. Few puffy chairs were scattered in the luxurious room, but the most space was taken by the dark heavy wood table. Shining floating globes on the ceiling emitted golden light all around. Will definitely knew it was not electricity inside, the only time she saw something similar was in refugee's village in the Meridian. She went to sleep on Earth and woke up in Meridian 'This is a very strange dream…' she thought uneasily looking at her palms, they were transparent. It was not a pajamas she wore in which she fell asleep in. Instead, a purple and green uniform hugged her body intentionally exposing the flat stomach with the swirling skirt design. The delicate butterfly wings fluttered in the air betraying her agitation. Will signed she was tired, sad and so not in the mood for any games Kandrakar played. Curling up on the carpet she stared at the fire, maybe falling asleep will take her back home. The fire was warm, the carpet cozy, and she relaxed not thinking about her bizarre situation.

The door handle clicked as it opened and Will was sharply woken up from her light dozing. She sat up hastily withdrawing more into the deep shadow of the bookcase. To her horrified surprise Phobos walked into the room holding a crystal glass. For a second his step faltered on the threshold and haughty eyes darted around the room. Will held her ragged breath, but even as his eyes landed on the spot where she hid, he did not sighted her. It seemed her body was invisible to him. Will slowly relaxed following his movements with her eyes even if her heart refused to slow down. He sat behind the desk and started working occasionally taking sips from the glass. Will was perplexed he seemed so relaxed and so human, not something out of the horror tale. Gone was the heavy royal robes and sharp angles of the crown. He wore a soft green tunic exposing glimpse of his pale chest and graceful neck with a distinct red tattoo, under it were wide white pants. Long loosely braided hair rested on his shoulder while the part of it were tied up into a low topknot on his head. A few pale silky tresses framed his angular face with prominent cheekbones while the gentle shadows danced on the long eyelashes which hidden radiant blue eyes.

Comfortable silence filled the room occasionally disturbed by the scratches of feather pen on the paper, book pages turning and crackles in the fireplace. 'Maybe I am delirious…because this is some very vivid dream' Will brooded. However, nothing in her magic spoke of danger, so with a little bit of reckless courage she stood up and looked around the room. Focusing on the books, she tried taking one, but as the spine shuddered from the touch she abandoned the idea of moving anything in fear of being found out. One bookcase after another everything was written in strange foreign languages. Will grow bored and restless not finding anything useful or entertaining enough, to distract her from the absurd situation, she was in. Unexpectedly Phobos stopped writing and walked to withdraw a book out of the bookcase opposite of her. Will glanced at the empty chair suddenly feeling very daring and foolish, she took a few steps closer to the table trying to see the papers.

'You know, little Guardian, it is not nice to snoop' he closed the book with a loud thud 'this is the second time you disturbed my peace… Are you suicidal?' Phobos casually asked gazing in her general direction.

Will froze between him and the massive table. 'This is bad, so bad…' her mind worked overtime, eyes darted around trying to find the nearest exit. 'Don't look so surprised I can detect your power. You almost taste like ozone in the air and electricity on the tip of the tongue, a lightning...' his smirk was predatory 'a little bit of magic and I can see you' his blue eyes gained slightly green sheen and then Phobos looked straight at her. With a few long steps, he pushed Will into the table crowding her space, towering just above her.

'Here you are. Astral walking, I see, nice little trick.' invisible tension was back again as if merely being here Phobos was sucking the air out the room, making her lightheaded. His magic danced on her body sending painful jolts through the muscles locking them in place, immobile, as if a spell was cast on her.

'Cat got your tongue?' he inquired roughly grabbing Will by the chin.

'I don't know…' warm tears gathered in wide chocolate brown eyes 'I didn't…' they spilled on the pale cheeks. First Matt now this Will was just so tired 'I didn't come here myself…' she muttered in half sob. She did not care about showing weakness or anything anymore, just wanted to go home and forget the world. 'Oh…' his brows furrowed and gaze dropped to her chest. He outstretched his hand and withdrew the pendant out of her purple blouse. Pink light spilled through his fingers as Hearth of Kandrakar blinked and swirled with protective magic. Will felt powerless, if Phobos take the Heart from her everything will be over. She locked her tear-filled eyes with him in despair and strong-willed hope of fighting with everything she had inside her mind.

'What a troublesome little object you are…' he said with barely hidden amusement in the eyes. Phobos pulled on the medallion tugging her so close to him they practically touched. He was taller than her, so Will had to tilt her head to look into him. Phobos raised other hand gathering magic on his palm. Gradually it formed a small ice dagger glinting dangerously in the light.

'I let you go one time… I will not make an exception again' he gently caressed her cheek. It made goosebumps on her skin. 'This will undoubtedly hurt, but it should teach you not to come again' Phobos smirked carelessly releasing her. With a sudden strike he viciously stabbed the ice dagger straight into her stomach. She screamed in agony as the freezing pain spread through the body…

Gasping uncontrollably Will sat up on the bed. Her belly unpleasantly churned when vertigo hit her head. Hastily scrambling to the bathroom and collapsing on the cold tiles, she vomited into the toilet. Feeling a bit better with an empty stomach Will patted herself all over checking for a visible wound, but finding none. Phobos have not lied, it really hurt. Why did he even warn her? Somehow Will felt like a mouse who was toyed by a cat. Phobos was a walking contradiction, cruel, yet almost playful and sensual in his interaction with her. She trembled with memory of his tender caresses and that accompanying tension in the air. It felt like she was getting burned from inside. This was a second time experiencing something like that and both instances it was with Phobos. Not even Matt made her so aware of her body in such messed up situations. Brushing her teeth and rinsing mouth to remove any foul taste Will looked in the mirror. Her skin was pale almost blue with dark circles under the eyes and disheveled hair, she was a mess. Taking off of her sweaty pajamas Will got into the brief shower to soothe the tense muscles and relax her mind.

Drying herself off she gently patted her abdomen still feeling the burning remnants of ice 'I don't want to be stabbed ever again… What an asshole. Phobos is definitely not on Santa's nice list' she shuddered and chuckled on the absurdity her life have become. Twice she escaped death and personal encounters with a Prince. Heart of Kandrakar blinked on her skin 'Great, even my magic is betraying me…' Will rolled her eyes at the medallion which sat innocently between her breasts. 'Never do that again, please' she stoked the round pendant and went to bed hoping for some peaceful rest. Will knew it would be in her best interest not to see Phobos again, but deep in her heart she foolishly entertained the idea of another meeting. Like the saying goes, 'Curiosity killed the cat … but satisfaction brought her back.'….


	5. Chapter 4

‘Wake up, sleepy head! Wake up!’ annoying voice called her.   
‘Rise and shine! Its morning, if you don’t get up, you’ll be late for school! WAKE UP!’ it shouted in expiration at the sleeping figure.  
Will groaned under the blanket as the unique voices kept chattering and shouting around her. Tearing open her eyes she was greeted by sunlight outside window. It was Monday morning. Electronic devices around the room gossiped about hers night run to the bathroom and how she looked like something cat dragged in.  
‘Great… now even inanimate objects are ganging upon me…’ she thought yawning, slowly getting up from the bed. Sometimes it sucked to be technopath. Conveniently ignoring the buzzing background noise, she did her morning routine and went to the kitchen. No one was home. Usually, her mother went to work before she woke up, but there were freshly baked pancakes on the table.   
‘Will, my insides are quite empty, maybe you should go grocery shopping’ the fridge complained in sad voice. She gently massaged the temples groaning out loud, all that buzzing were inducing a mild headache. Making a cup coffee Will concentrated and pushed a sliver of power out of her body with a sudden electrical surge, causing all the objects silent around the kitchen. Minor discharge done the trick of promptly shutting them up. She could not use it often. It would break their circuits, frying perfectly working appliances. Digging into the pancakes Will wondered how much magic she had, never testing the limits of her powers. Could it take out the whole building’s electricity, a city block or a town itself? A frightening idea, she shuddered, but something whispered in her mind there was more power inside her than she knew about.  
School was slow, the day dragged ant snail pace and Will was bored out her mind. She avoided girls all morning not wanting to talk. However, by the glare Cornelia was giving her it would not work any longer. Doodling on the paper while waiting for ringing of the bell she made plans just run for it and hide until lunch break was over.  
‘Will Vandom, could you wait in the class a little longer.’ teacher Rudolph asked at the end of the lesion. As everyone left for lunch Will slowly putted away books and stood by the teacher’s desk.   
‘Will, you failed another math test’ elderly woman handed her a sheet ‘this has to stop or you will not pass this trimester.’ she slowly polished her glasses looking at her pupil in disapproval.  
‘I am sorry, Mrs. R, I’m just not good at math…’ Will muttered in apology. Actually she failed to revise for a test, because there was a fight with the monsters a day before it, but such excuse would not work on any teacher.   
‘I know you can do better, so I will allow you take a remedy test’ teacher said ‘maybe next time you will ask for my help. If you do not understand the material, there are many explanatory math problems to solve. It does not bring me joy to see my student’s fail, it makes me feel like inadequate teacher’ the older woman gave her a smile. ‘You can take a test next Monday after school so prepare adequately.’  
After being dismissed Will steered clear of the cafeteria, where girls waited for her, and instead gone to the yard. Will liked Mrs. R., she was a kind-hearted teacher, but the math lesions were a bane of her existence. Sitting behind the tree Will looked at the sky. October was ending and air was getting colder. The leaves were spotted with varied colors, yellow, red, brown, falling on the ground in colorful blanket, spinning in the wind. Some trees were already bare.  
Taranee came out in the yard and stopped beside her. ‘Do you mind if I join?’ she asked sitting on the grass and crunching a few leaves in the process.   
‘Cornelia was pissed when you did not show up at lunch, but Elyon finally joined, so it was ok. Why are you avoiding us?’ Taranee asked.  
‘I’m not… well, not really’ Will put her head on the knees ‘I had unpleasant night and morning, no mood for gossiping or silly banter…’  
‘Everything okay with your mom?’   
‘I don’t know, mom is almost never home. It’s either her job or dating, and since she goes for a lot of dates, maybe she genuinely likes that guy. I still did not meet with him, but she looks happy. It’s not that what ruined my mood…’ Will continued ‘Matt has a girlfriend… and I failed yet another math test…’  
‘Oh, Will…’ Taranee hugged her and Will quietly sighed in her friend shoulder. She always cherished her company. Tarranee was her closest friend from all the girls. She never judged, was good listener and offered her support.   
‘You know I always liked Matt. He looked so mature and cool, but after knowing him better, he seemed quite a softy inside. It was nice to spend time with him, and I thought he liked me too… I did not even have a chance to date a guy…’ she sniffed trying to prevent the tears from spilling on the cheeks ‘Also I am tired. Juggling the life and Guardians secrets, it a lots of pressure…’ Will did not even perceived what to think about her recent encounters with Phobos, intense was just a one word for it.   
‘How can you keep up with everything?’ she asked wearily looking at Taranee.  
‘It’s not like I do everything…’ the quiet girl pondered.   
‘Sometimes I am so busy, I can’t find a spare minute to rest. The dance lesions, school, homework, family obligations, things just get over my head. Then I go to Nigel and he keeps me sane. I can relax around him and troubles do not seem so heavy anymore.’ Taranee smiled blushing slightly.  
‘Do not mention anything to the girls, but he’s my boyfriend as of last week. My mother is against it, because Nigel have a record with the police, but she cannot tell me what to do.’   
‘Have you already kissed?’ Will giggled focusing on her shy friend overlooking her own problems for a second.  
‘Yes, a lot…’ Taranee was suddenly embarrassed and hid her rosy cheeks in the palms. ‘It was lovely…’   
Suddenly the bell rang announcing the end of the break and girls had to quickly run back at school. Stopping in the middle of the corridor just outside classrooms Taranee looked her with determined expression   
‘I am really sorry about you and Matt. You deserve someone to share burdens with and if Matt don’t see how good you are, he is a fool.’ she said as the matter of fact and went off into the room.   
To Will, it seemed like she was a fool. Matt never gave her any ideas. They hung around, talked and worked together, but it was her that wanted more from him. She never even asked if he was available. Remembering his face Will sighed, even with that troubled expression, Matt looked cute. Those chocolate eyes and disheveled auburn hair… Unaware her mind drifted to another set of eyes… piercing blue, like a glacial and pale skin with high cheekbones… Will was startled out of her daydream. Did she really just think about Phobos? Guiltily admitting it, that yes she did, Will was frightened. He was a handsome male, almost sinfully so. She gently shook her head trying to focus on the lesion, but her heartbeat quickened from the mere thought about the powerful man. Will did not know if it was from the well-founded fear or something more forbidding.  
School ended without further incidents. Taranee interfered with the girls, so she went to the swimming training at sedated pace. Elyon walked ahead on the opposite street and Will waived in greeting, but the girl did not see her and disappeared into the shop. Feeling curious where Elyon went, Will followed.   
It was a bookshop. The building was old and a bit rundown, but the shop looked more like antiques store than a place to buy books. Will peeked inside the store through the big front window. Elyon was chatting with an older nice-looking guy, clearly flirting. He had long blonde hair tied up in low ponytail and glasses. The guy dressed rather smartly in white formal shirt and dark grey pressed pants. His blazer lied down on the back of the chair. Not wanting to intrude Will retreated, but the guy caught her spying looking straight at her. His gaze was full of anger trailing her body in disgusting way, as if she represented something lesser and unwanted. Shuddering Will pulled back and went ahead not stopping until she reached the swimming pool.   
Water relaxed her and washed away all worries. Maybe that was what Taranee was talking about, a safe place just to be yourself. After a competitive practice, when everyone else started to leave, Will was doing leisure swimming staying a bit longer. Gathering a deep breath, she dove and stayed underwater. Pressure clogged her ears making everything quiet. Glittering lights shimmered and swirled above the surface. Small bubbles slowly floated up when she relaxed the body and just drifted without a gravity. Water was Irma’s domain. She was the Water Guardian, but Will loved the pleasant feeling of floating and the dulled world around her. Suddenly, radiant purplish light gushed out of the swimsuit illuminating the pool. With unexpected startle Will took a mouthfuls of bleach smelling water. Heavily coughing and sniffing she got out of the pool holding the warm pendant in her fist. Once more it transmitted a wave of unexplained and vague feelings, something to do with water. As of late Hearth of Kandrakar became very temperamental. It guided her to something, giving out riddles and feelings she did not know how to explain. It was strange, because the pendant seemed almost sentient. Will looked closer at the round pink crystal encased into the delicate silver casting. Maybe it was, she decided to look more into her power origins.  
Doing grocery shopping in the nearby store Will decided to talk to the girls about their magic. It was possible they had questions too or maybe Hay Lin knew something from her grandmother. Quickly texting to Hay Lin asking if they could talk Will got home. Placing the food in the fridge, she decided to cook pasta for dinner. Before the food was finished her mom finally got home. As she changed, Will prepared a cup of tea and put it on the table.  
‘Thank you’ Susan smiled and took a sip of delicious beverage ‘how was your day, darling?’   
‘It was ok, still need to work on my math, but everything else is nice.’ Will answered taking out plates. ‘How was your date, yesterday? You came back late?’  
‘He is really nice man. You should meet with him, but everything is still in early stages. We both suffered after the divorce, but this man is kind, smart and protective. I feel safe with him and hope you understand that I can finally love again.’   
‘I know mom, just be happy, okay?’ Will worried needlessly, looking at her beaming mother. She did not want her heart to be broken again. Divorce was hard on both of them, but moving away and starting a fresh helped. Even if the start was difficult, after a while, they talked things out. Will could not judge her mom for being in unhappy marriage. Dinner was nice, they conversed about daily things catching up with news in their lives. Late in the evening when her mother went to sleep Will prepared for a bath. In preparation she lighted few candles and put her favorite peach scented bath foam in the water, creating a wall of bubbles on the surface. Taking her clothes off leaving only the pendant hanging between her breasts, she slowly immersed herself in hot water, sighing happily when the tense muscles relaxed. Heart of Kandrakar glowed again. Will drew a deep breath and slid underwater…


	6. Chapter 5

With a splash Will resurfaced into the natural hot spring, naked as the day she was born, half submerged in the deep pool of water. Steam danced on the surface making it hard to see where she was.  
‘This was not what I expected when deciding to take a relaxing bath outside.’ whispered familiar voice out of the fog. Will screamed, but the sound was cut off by the hand on her mouth.  
‘Silence. Or would you like the palace guards come here running?’ a male muttered fiercely into her ear, gripping her tightly from behind. One hand on her mouth other just below her chest, keeping her in firmly place. She could feel rigid muscles tensing as he breathed in and out and water droplets running down their nude bodies. Steam thickened around them. It concealed everything from sight, making her hyper aware of every minuscule point on her skin touched by him. With their every breath tension sizzled in the air, unsettling her mind. Will’s whole body blushed to the roots of her hair, feeling the solid male form behind her back. It seemed her heart wanted to jump out of the chest beating erratically against ribs. Seconds ticked by and forbidden temptation pooled into her belly. Feeling too much or maybe too little she suddenly struggled to get free. It almost hurt when his vice-like grip instantly locked around her. Phobos hands confined her in a cage, firmly pressing to his body, halting any erratic movements.  
‘Nod once with promise not to scream, or this time I will kill you with no exceptions…’ he tensely whispered in deep voice. It dripped with dark hidden promises, sending shivers down her spine. Will nodded, not having a choice wanting to take as much distance from him as she could. Phobos slowly released her, taking measured steps back to the edge of the pool as if afraid she would lash out.  
‘Cover up, you are indecent!’ something purple landed on her head. Will hugged object to her chest. It was a purple satin robe, getting half wet in the water. Immensely relieved that she would not have to be exposed Will dressed up feeling less embarrassed. It dwarfed on her, enveloping around the figure like oversized dress. She tied the edges of the robe with a soft ribbon, making it more formfitting.  
Mist cleared up, just a few wisps of vapor swirled above the hot water surface. Turning around Will saw Phobos lounging on the edge of the pool, blushing she averted her gaze. His body was half submerged into the water, hiding from the sight. She did not see if he was properly dressed. But the pale firm and lean body with the moist hair gently lying on the shoulders made her mouth dry. Phobos looked quite relaxed despite her being here, not at all bothered by the uninvited visitor or ashamed of his own improper appearance. Suddenly feeling the absurdity of the situation Will giggled and then started to silently laugh. This was beyond her imagination. She was seriously crazy fraternizing with the enemy. The girls would be horrified beyond belief, maybe even examine her for any spell damage. Will knew the man was dangerous. He could eliminate her at the change of the mood, but somehow there was no malicious intent present and that was very confusing. Heart of Kandrakar innocently blinked and swirled on her chest. Examining the culprit of all her troubles Will felt very frustrated.  
‘This is all your fault, you little pink menace!’ she angrily muttered taking of the pendant and shaking it vigorously. A deep amused chuckle distracted her from the one way argument.  
‘Judging by your actions, this is not a visit of your own free will?’ he grinned again. ‘Do you even comprehend what are you holding in your hand?’  
Irritated by her silliness Will huffed and dipped into the water hiding in embarrassment. ‘Stupid little pendant!’ she childishly answered splashing the water into his direction. Phobos raised an eyebrow looking at her in mild disapproval.  
‘You probably know more than I do…’ Will confessed in defeat ‘but I will not betray any secrets. It could be used against me…’  
‘If I desired your death, you already would be drowned in this pool. Or had your demise the first time we met…’ Phobos inspected his nails absent-mindedly as if avoiding to look at her.  
‘Why? Why am I still alive? What do you want from me?’ Will raised her voice in agitation seeking the answers to the questions which drove her crazy all this time.  
‘Would you believe if said, nothing? I want nothing from you…’ he offered a silent reply ‘allow me to remind you Guardian, it is you who appeared before me…’ Phobos stated as a fact with an impassive face.  
‘Liar! This is wrong! You are my enemy! I should not talk to you or even be over here!’ Will snapped hearing unbelievable words. She was confused by her own complicated feelings, not wanting to be here, but at the same time thrilled with his company. Something inside her enjoyed the thrill of the danger, but at the same time being here was foolish. It was stupid to lash out her frustrations at him, but she could not help it. Will had no idea how to go home.  
‘Do not presume things!’ Phobos growled out. The fierce heat in his tone startled Will out of her thoughts. She glanced at the male and could see tightly clenched fists, but as quickly as his temper risen it was gone the next second. Phobos took a deep breath and the evident tension bled out of his figure.  
‘Tell her to stop.’ Phobos motioned at the pendant, spreading his hands on the rocky surface in more comfortable position.  
‘Her? Who?’ Will asked bewildered by the abrupt changes in the conversation. Almost from the start she could not keep up with him.  
‘You genuinely do not know?’ he looked at her with blank expression carefully hiding his thoughts. Seeing the adorably puzzled face, Phobos silently sighed praying for his sanity. She Aportrayed an alluring picture covered in his silky robe with a flushed rosy face and slightly moist disheveled red hair. Such innocence could be easily corrupted. Although he would never step so low even with this tainted image he played effortlessly. It was pretty fun to observe her responses to him. She was like a fresh spark in his monotonously dull existence. It seemed Kandrakar stopped treating their Guardians as human beings and started to identify them as common soldiers, not divulging the required information. Just point them, and they go. Phobos wondered just how deep the corruption went. Staying in this prison, he could not know, but at the same time it did not matter. He was already treading the path of no return. The inescapable task will cost him everything, maybe even his life. However, the young Keeper of the Heart stirred something in him long forgotten, a hope. Ages ago he was similar to her, a bright and kind fellow Guardian. Those fond memories were lost behind in the sands of fleeting time. Everything that remained was misery, darkness and cold, the sins to repent and repay. He did not deserve happiness for the mistakes made. Yet giving some information had no cost, so Phobos tried once more.  
‘If I ask questions would, you give me answers?’ there was a slight hesitation in this inquire as if he believed it was not worth asking, because the answer would be negative.  
Guardian frowned clearly untrusting, but her curiosity won and she nodded reluctantly. Phobos did not blame her, sometimes he could not even trust himself.  
Will frowned wondering how this will go. Would he try to feed her lies or tell something she did not know? His eyes seemed so serious and sad. Will wanted to offer a chance, but could not trust him entirely given their peculiar circumstances.  
‘Do you happen to know what you are holding in your hand?’ he repeated the previously asked question pointing at the glowing pendant.  
‘The Heart of Kandrakar’ Will gave the obvious answer shrugging her shoulders.  
‘No, Guardian, you are holding The Heart of a Nymph. A spirit and power of one mystical individual. When I think about it, the Heart should presumably possess some magic of all its previous Keepers. In addition it contains elementary forces of nature absorbed from the Great Dragons the nymph protected. Essentially, the pendant you are holding, is a sentient magical object with its own thoughts and feelings. Kandrakar connected it with its own planetary magic. After that Guardians could summon, unite and magnify their powers, without hurting you all or taking your life essence.’ Phobos explained looking quite bored but willing to share the superior knowledge.  
Will was shocked trying to comprehend the novel information. This was beyond everything she ever imagined, so much power was in such small object. She looked at the pendant in her hand. It blinked again and filling her with joy and genuine anticipation. The pendant floated just above the palm shining brightly and slowly joining with her. Will painfully gasped hugging the chest, feeling the heavy foreign presence settling in the heart. It filled her with so much warmth and yearning it felt like the light was burning inside. Silent tears ran down the rosy cheeks while the body started to glow. Next everything exploded in pink light.  
Phobos looked astonished as the young woman merged with the Heart. She shimmered like a ray of sunshine. The only time he saw something similar was when the Heart of Meridian joined with Weira, just less flashy. He recalled how the power of the Heart of Meridian felt and his heart prickled with empty sadness. The Guardian floated above the water with pure power flaring out of her body, old and overwhelming. Her red hair and borrowed purple robe fluttered around with invisible wind. White pale light radiated from her eyes. What he saw right now was not a Guardian, but a power of the nymph. Phobos promptly knelt on one knee in the shallow water, bowing his head and placing his hand on the heart, showing proper respect for the powerful being.  
‘Guardian, you are traveling down a very dark path… It will destroy you…’ she said solemnly. Her melodic voice echoed with various unique tones. Phobos merely hoped his privacy spell on the pool would hold, and no unfriendly eyes see this interaction.  
‘There is no choice, o wise one, I am prepared to die.’ he answered with evident conviction ‘I will do what is necessary, become the villain everyone despises, if that helps to save my planet. The bright path I once threaded is not for me anymore. My decision is made.’  
‘Oran, after all this time your heart is still holding pure…’ the transparent form of the nymph overlaid the Guardian’s frame. The Entity hovered before him and gently lifted his chin up looking into the astonished eyes.  
‘I have not heard that name in centuries… that is not who I am anymore. Once upon a time a nameless Guardian, now I am the boy who died untimely. My name is Phobos and in this body I will live and die. The perfect combination of the two souls…’ a lone tear rolled down the pale cheek.  
‘You don’t have to do this alone…’ she earnestly advised, gently cleaning off the teardrop. The pleasant warmth spread through her simple touch.  
‘This girl…’ the woman said motioning at the body ‘she could help given the chance. That’s why I guided her after witnessing how you healed her when she fell. Will is kind, stubborn and so loyal, once you deserve her trust.’  
‘There is no hope. She would not believe my truthfulness or agree with methods I used. I will remain her enemy.’ he hissed through the teeth somewhat ashamed of himself.  
‘Then guide her, reveal the hidden facts. Once Will knows what is happening, she would undoubtedly help’ the nymph proposed then smiled indulgently ‘you can remain stubborn all you want, but I see your heart. I will not stop sending Will to you. With my power and her desire she can travel to any place, nothing will stop us. It’s your judgment what you do with this opportunity’ with those words the light died out and girl plummeted into the water making a loud splash. Phobos plunged after her, pulling out her limp body. He gently laid her on the ground, wiping away wet hair from the face. She moaned and slowly sat up, slightly swaying but trying to stay upright.  
Will felt dizzy and disoriented, yet she opened her eyes and sluggishly moved up settling on the grass near the pool.  
‘What happened?’ she asked the only person with the possible answer. Half-naked Phobos was sitting near her dripping water everywhere. His long legs were covered with white pants. They were clinging to the skin leaving not much to imagination.  
‘You had a heat stroke. Soaked too long in hot water… fished you out of the spring’ he shrugged in nonchalant fashion.  
‘Sorry…’ Will apologized for her own sake as her heart fluttered with anxiety. Once more he did something unpredictable. ‘Thank you, I would have drowned…’ she inclined her head in small nod, grateful for his unexpected help.  
‘If I wanted a floating corpse in my pool, I place it there myself!’  
Irritated Phobos stood up and pushed wet hair out of the way. With another touch it was dry once again and flowed around him like silk curtain. Will felt jealous of the casual magic use shivering in sodden clothes. Her pendant was again hanging on the chest. She looked at Phobos in genuine shock ‘You did not took it?’  
‘Don’t worry Guardian, I cannot even if I want to. It would probably triple my powers, yet the Heart are not easily corruptible. The only way I could take if it is given up freely. That is why the Oracle does not share the origins of your powers easily. He is afraid of you or what you can do. Especially, after what happened with the other Keeper. Ask him if you are curious, but do not expect the Oracle will give an explanation.’  
‘How do you know all this?’ Will asked curiously, not expecting a possible answer.  
‘I am old, Guardian, older than you think… I know many things’ he smirked as if telling the joke only he could understand. Phobos offered his hand to her with gentlemanly manners. Will hesitated, but after a wave of dizziness hit her again, she took it. Sparks struck when their fingers touched as their magic sizzled around. It lasted only a second, yet Will’s palm numbed with sudden electrical charge. He helped her to stand up.  
‘Will, my name is Wilhelmina. I prefer Will, so stop calling me Guardian, ok?’ she said squeezing his hand, shaking it in introduction and letting go. Phobos looked at her in puzzlement ‘Well, Will….’ he stopped mid-sentence as the strange pressure filled the garden.  
Slowly roses moved, swaying in the invisible wind. They whispered, murmured and muttered one word with different voices ‘intruder… intruder… intruder…’ it echoed all around them. Will shuddered, it seemed like roses were alive. Phobos sprung into the action. He dragged her to the water and urged to get in  
‘Quickly, go home! You cannot be discovered here! Wish upon the Heart of Kandrakar and it should work… I apologize for this…’ he said in a rush forcibly plunging her head underwater. Will’s lungs burned with too little air trying to concentrate under unexpected situation. Pulling out the Heart of Kandrakar, she put her hands in a prayer cupping the pendant between the palms. The last thing she saw was a distorted figure above the water and distant greeting in name of ‘Cedric…’  
As her head breached the surface Will breathed in relief. Coughing she looked around recognizing her own bathroom. The Heart of Kandrakar safely brought her back. Water was cold and candles burned down. More than a few hours passed while she was on Meridian. Hastily getting out of the bath Will took a notice of a purple robe clinging to the body. Dressing in her own warm dry fluffy robe, she felt happy that everything what happened was not a lucid dream. The silky male clothing was a proof of that. Wringing the excess water out of the fabric Will hung the robe on the door, deciding to wash it in the morning. Feeling drowsy and weak as if her strength was sucked out from within, she tidied up the bathroom. After dry blowing the hair and trailing into the bed she fell asleep without another thought.

**Name Oran means 'light or pale little green one' I decided it could be a fitting name for a former Guardian of the Heart of Meridian. I imagined it as a green beryl crystal, shaped in a form of a diamond. I probably never use that name again, its just a reminder that this Phobos is not as he seems :D**


	7. Chapter 6

Will was late. Again. After a few weeks passed from the previous meeting with Phobos her life became hectic. She had to balance school work, the additional math lesions with Taranee. Also swimming training and keeping up with her social life while trying to avoid Matt, who wanted to talk to her. With no new cases of mysterious traveling, there was time to think about everything learned. She was conflicted and her adventures with Phobos made her even more confused. Last time he seemed almost decent to her. He even saved her from drowning in his own, not a nice way. What a contradicting guy, like a mystery to be solved. It was getting on her nerves, that constant confusion about things she wanted and hiding learned secrets from the girls. The unexpected meetings were wrong in so many ways. She wanted but could not open her mouth and say something about it to her friends. Girls would resent her, if they knew she was talking with the enemy. Yet one side of her wanted to encounter him again, while other was going against it, telling it was a terrible idea. Will just prayed that nothing would go wrong as she was playing with fire, putting everything on the line.   
Running around the pedestrians she finally got to the Silver Dragon. Opening the back door of the restaurant Will greeted Mrs. Lin who was carrying trays filled with dirty dishes to the kitchen.   
‘Good afternoon, Mrs. Lin, where is Hay Lin?’ she asked waiving in polite greeting.  
‘Hello Will, she’s in her room, waiting for you. Hang on for a moment. I will prepare you some tea.’ the raven-haired woman smiled.  
She went to the kitchen leaving Will in the corridor. After a few minutes Will took a new bamboo tray from a woman and went upstairs to Hay Lin room. Knocking on the wood she heard a tumble and then a smiling girl opened the door, almost slamming the tray out of her hands.  
‘Watch it!’ Will shouted regaining her balance as the cups dangerously wavered on the tray.  
‘Sorry…’ Hay Lin shrugged taking the tea out of her hands.  
Her room was messy and disorganized, stuff was lying around in heaps, but it was cozy. The walls were dyed in warm blue with a pale wooden coverage beneath. Lots of pictures and sketched were taped to it. There was only one generous window with a wide and comfortable windowsill. You could sit on and gaze into the city. The flooring was covered with fluffy carpet and separated in two halves by the raised wooden platform. On it a work table sat with a chair, behind it hung lots of shelves filled with books. A Chinese divider painted with mystical dragons created a perfect place for changing near the small closet and a standing mirror. The room had airy and artsy feeling, just like Hay Lin.   
Girls settled down on the windowsill with steaming cups of tea. Hay Lin was curiously glancing at Will. Usually, she was not the one to ask for a meeting if other girls were not around.   
‘So what did you want to talk about?’ the girl inquired eagerly.  
Will avoided her gaze, trying to gather the thoughts together. She did not know how to explain the doubts on the secrets she had knowledge of without saying where she had learned them. It was hard enough to lie about her dealings with the enemy. Will did not want to lie about anything else. Withholding the truth made her feel guilty as it is.   
‘Hay Lin, I usually talk more with Taranee regarding such things, but do you ever have doubts about what we are doing?’ Will asked with pounding heart.  
‘Doubts, you say?’ Hay Lin looked thoughtful ‘I don’t have doubts per se, but you know fighting is hard. I always get worried about people lives, and I don’t like to hurt others…’ she said looking the through window ‘… but sometimes it’s necessary…’   
‘Do you ever wonder why Kandrakar does not tell us useful information? Will complained ‘I would like to know how the war started? And maybe some history of Metamoor. It’s like we have to discover everything ourselves, with very little information to begin with,’ she sighed resignedly talking out her frustrations.  
‘I get what you mean, but from what I noticed Kandrakar is full of old men and some of them give me creeps… they probably say something like… Young lady, you are a Guardian, conduct your duties seriously and learn for yourself. Experience is the key to knowledge.’ Hay Lin imitated old man voice acting as a wise person.   
‘You are probably right’ Will took a sip of tea ‘it does not mean I do not like learning, it’s just a bit frustrating…’  
‘Well, for what I gathered, unrest in Metamoor started in Queen Weiras’ time. Something about people not liking only female successors on the throne. I don’t know much about it. Later something happened to the royal family leaving it in shambles. Phobos took on the throne in early childhood. There was an opposition and many people did not like him. I don’t know what the Prince did, but the rumors said he executed lots of nobles. It started the civil war. I mean I can understand it. I don’t like Phobos either, but the rebels don’t have any other heir to inherit. Now we just have to do our job until they find and put the rightful female heir on the throne.’ Hay Lin shrugged taking a bite of the cookie.  
‘Do you really think Phobos is destroying the planet?’ Will asked, fearful of the answer she would hear.  
‘I don’t know, that’s what Oracle said. Phobos feels like overcharged battery with so much magic. I know something is not right in Metamoor. Every time we travel there, it feels like ambient magic is unstable. Did you not feel it?’  
Will shuddered, suddenly feeling cold. Those were the facts they knew. Going into the Meridian always felt uneasy as if magic was slowly disappearing. The population frequently experienced unexpected weather hardships. It ruined their crops, sometimes leading to famine. People whispered it was because not the rightful heir sat on the throne and superstition thrived. Is Phobos really the culprit for everything? Facts said yes, but her heart still was uncertain. The magic she felt from Phobos was to rich not to be anything but his own. It was tightly contained, but just screamed danger. It was possible something else was going on, and they did not know about it.   
‘How do you know all this?’ Will wondered looking at Hay Lin.  
‘Will, I talk to people’ she rolled her eyes ‘when you go to those super-secret leadership meetings with Caleb and his guys, we help the folks around. I usually do the heavy lifting. Cornelia goes around helping with crops and food. Taranee charges magic lights and Irma helps filling up the drinking water.’ Hay Lin answered ‘We want to be helpful too. You plan the strategy with the guys, while the people on Meridian require our aid with smaller things. It feels good to be helpful.’ Hay Lin shrugged her shoulders smiling shyly.  
‘Uh, don’t remind me. They expect me to know everything… Bleh, I had to read so much about our war strategies. It gave me a headache and good grade in history class’ Will merrily laughed.  
‘Anyway, I have another question for you’ she started ‘did your grandmother spoke anything about our powers or how they came to be?’ Will hoped that Yan Lin mentioned something to her granddaughter about being a Guardian. Every piece of information was priceless because it could be compared with what Phobos told her.   
‘Well, I know something… I thought to leave it for some special occasion, but if you asked…’ Hay Lin stood up and went to her table searching through the drawer’s muttering to herself.  
‘Where did I put that? Yay!’ she shouted in happiness and offered a piece of paper.   
Will looked at the paper piece torn out of the album. A drawing of a beautiful woman in ancient flowing blue and white dress and four different colored Chinese dragons. Her heart thudded with excitement. It was like something out of a conversation she had with Him.  
‘What’s this?’ she asked giving the drawing back, trying not to look to eager.  
‘I drew this.’ Hay Lin boasted ‘It’s a picture I composed from a tale my grandmother used to tell me when I was little. Now, when I think about it maybe she was getting me ready for being a Guardian… All those stories about magic warriors and other worlds… I believed it was just a bedtime story, but maybe it was something more. Her way of narrating to me her own adventures.’ she sniffed a bit ‘I really miss her…’  
‘Hey, I miss her too. You grandma was awesome woman’ Will hugged Hay Lin ‘now can you tell me the story?’ she patted her friends back in gentle reassurance.  
‘Sorry…’ Hay Lin cleaned up her tears and sat comfortably crossing her legs.   
‘Long, long time ago when Time was still young and there were no rivers or lakes just a great sea, lived four carefree dragons. They danced and chased each other through the air with no responsibilities. Yet one day they heard a prayer from below carried up by the smoke from incense. ‘May the skies open up! May the rain return to us! This we beg for! This we pray for!’ shouted people to the skies.  
The yellow dragon, the one who loved the earth most, went to see what’s going on. He returned sad and suffering. The drought was destroying the Earth, and the people were starving. Deciding to help the four dragons went to the Jade emperor, but the welcoming they received was far from kind. The emperor stated he would help, but days passed and there was no rain.   
People starved, children died, but the emperor did not care. Then the dragons decided to take action, hauling the water from the sea inn their maws and spilling it on the clouds. That’s what the four dragons did hundreds and thousands of times making the rain. It ended the people’s suffering. When the Jade emperor learned about their actions, he was outraged and brought them to the palace. He prepared terrible punishment, for challenging his power. The emperor had no pity for the dragons and locked them up in the mountains, to never see the daylight again. Yet the nymph Xing Ling, a woman of great courage and justice, was furious. Going to the palace, she argued with an emperor, saying he had no right to lock up the dragons, calling him cruel and arrogant. The emperor laughed at her words as she could not undo his order. The nymph tried to move the mountains with all her might, but to no avail. However, she wanted dragons sacrifice to be remembered for all eternity. Seeing no other option to free the dragons, she sacrificed herself. Her divine powers passed through the mountains releasing her magic into them and in return absorbing the dragon’s essence. And so the nymph Xing Ling was forever bound with the dragons. Her body disappeared, but the soul became a beautiful crystal amulet. The five dragon bodies turned into the great rivers, helping to water crops ever since.’ Hay Lin finished in peaceful voice.   
‘So is this the story of our power origins?’ Will asked summarizing the story.  
‘Seems like it. That’s why I wanted all girls to hear it, but since you asked first… I tell them later. Basically, it’s like this. The Red Dragon loved water, the Yellow one was fond of earth. The Black Dragon flew better than anyone else and the Pearl Dragon controlled fire. That’s our elemental powers and the Heart of Kandrakar is the Nymph’s heart making it all possible.’ Hay Lin explained putting the drawing back into the drawer.   
‘Thank you. It’s fascinating to hear something new about ourselves. I guess nothing is ever simple with magic…’ Will smiled thoughtfully. She got what she came for the confirmation that Phobos did not lied, and she was indeed a Keeper of the nymph’s Heart. Now Will wanted to know why they are meeting at random times and why he did not kill her yet. Phobos said he wanted nothing from her. That was hard to believe, and she did not want to be deceived. What she was doing was dangerous, and girls would call her stupid for this. Yet, deep in hear heart Will wanted to continue. Something just pushed her to know more, to dig deep into the closely-guarded secrets. If meeting with their enemy was the answer, she will do it again. Somehow somewhere their paths would cross again.  
Later, after saying goodbye to Hay Lin, Will went home. It was cold outside. People were going around huddled in coats and scarfs. There were the pumpkins in the yards and scary looking decorations in the various windows. Halloween was around the corner with the splashing colors in the gray bleak autumn landscape. Vapor came from her mouth and shuddering in chilly wind Will stopped looking at the gray sky. It seemed rain would come again. Will slowly walked the familiar streets thinking about the tale when shivers ran down her spine. Strange nasty feeling rose in her chest, as if something was crawling on the skin. Something was following her, keeping its distance, never appearing in the line of sight, stealthily watching her. Will knew if needed she could defend herself, but unfamiliar pursuer made her frightened. Quickening her pace and looking around for any suspicious persons, but seeing none, she went straight home.   
Hiding in the deepening shadows a man was keenly observing the redhead girl passing by. She was tall and lean, with a milky skin it was a vivid contrast between her fiery hair and brown doe like eyes. The girl seemed quite ordinary, but was almost pulsing with a power hidden within. Following her path was easy, hiding in the plain sight was his specialty. When a window lighted up in an apartment complex, he knew it was place where she lived.   
‘So this is a Guardian… one of the five…’ the man thought, leaning on the tree in the park across the street. ‘Interesting…’ steel gray eyes gleamed behind the glasses and with a swish of a long ponytail the man slowly merged into the crowd.


	8. Chapter 7

On Saturday a festive mood floated in the crisp autumn air. It was All Hallows Eve. The city was cheerfully decorated with carved pumpkin lanterns, spider webs, bones, witches, skeletons and all other creepy things. Kids were running around joyfully laughing or screaming in fright, while their parents handled bags of candies and other snacks. All ages of people milled around in merrily buzzing city.  
Will agreed for girls to come over for the last-minute costume searching. She still did not know what to wear. Her mom already had plans for Halloween with her boyfriend, going to school party to chaperone kids. Their group were going to the club, to listen Matt’s band playing for the party. She still avoided Matt, even if he tried to catch her after school. It was too embarrassing to talk to him and Will just wanted to forget the silly unrequired crush. Ignoring him was easier than talking about her feelings, which slowly started to fade. Still, Matt was a talented musician and going to the club to have fun was just the thing she needed to relax. All week long Will felt someone stalking her. She never saw what or who it was, but it was seriously creepy. Since other girls not once noticed anything unordinary, maybe it was her imagination. Yet, the foreboding feeling never left, making her moody and jittery.  
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Will opened the doors letting her friends in.  
‘Hey, come in!’ Will greeted everyone with a warm smile. The four girls squeezed in the narrow hallway as they took of their outerwear and placed the full load of bags on various surfaces. Soon they all were comfortably settled in her room. Cornelia was going through her closet searching for suitable clothes to wear at tonight’s party.  
‘Will, you need to go shopping. Seriously, why have you not told me you have nothing to wear? What a pity Elyon is not here, she would have some original ideas.’ she complained, huffing at the piled up clothes in different heaps.  
‘Where is Elyon, anyway?’ Will asked trying to gather the scattered clothes after Cornelia, not wanting to make her room into the pigsty it already become.  
‘She had to help her mother with decorations. They are throwing a party, but she will meet us at the club. And Elyon, unlike you, has a gorgeous wood nymph costume.’ Cornelia rolled her eyes, throwing down the brown cargo pants Will liked to wear.  
‘I think, Will has lots of comfortable clothes…’ Irma said getting into her drawers ‘I mean look at this?’ she lifted up green panties with a frog on it ‘how are you still like such childish things?’ Irma laughed out loud finding more silly things.  
‘Hey, stop going through my underwear!’ Will shouted scrambling to Irma, trying to snatch the silly item. Hay Lin joined the fun digging deeper into the drawer taking out the lacy black bra. ‘Ohhhh, look at this! Maybe Will still has some hope of being fashionable!’ she happily cheered.  
‘This is nice…’ Cornelia smirked taking out matching black panties ‘do you want Matt to see this tonight?’ she giggled with barely hidden mirth.  
‘No! Matt has a girlfriend, and that’s not me!’ Will shouted in embarrassed frustration. Seizing the offending items, she threw them into the drawer and closed it with a loud thud. ‘This was present from my mother!’ she added in afterthought.  
Cheerful mood abruptly disappeared as the girls stopped in awkward silence.  
‘Why you did not tell us?’ Irma asked looking at her with sad eyes, ‘we would not have asked you to come to the concert. Maybe we could find some other party?’  
‘I knew…’ Taranee confessed ‘sorry guys, Will wanted to think about it, without our interruptions.’ she sighed feeling a bit guilty.  
‘I am sorry too. It’s hard to talk about my feelings, but I am ok now. After thinking about it, I just want Matt to be happy. I have not seen him almost four weeks now… Sooooo its ok! One concert would not change things between us.’ Will explained looking at the ground. She did not deliberately hide this, but simply could not properly explain her own feelings. It was slightly painful to think about Matt, but mostly she just felt ashamed of herself. And in the grand scheme of things maybe it was better to remain just friends with Matt. There was not enough time between her ordinary and magical life. Also, hiding such huge part of herself would probably strain any chance of having a decent boyfriend in anyway.  
‘If you say so…’ Hay Lin gently punched her shoulder ‘next time be a good girl and tell us, ok? We could totally have a girl’s night, with lots of ice cream and tear-jerking romance movies.’  
‘Yeah, maybe… I had many things on my mind’ Will apologized again ‘can we focus on the important stuff. What should I wear?’ she diverted the conversation pointing at Cornelia.  
‘You know, we should put you into something gorgeous, to make Matt realize what he lost,’ Cornelia insisted digging through her closet. ‘You definitely have to wear that underwear. It will form your figure and make you feel sexy inside’ she advised taking out the black set and placing it on the bed. ‘Now, we have to find everything else…’  
‘How about this?’ Taranee pulled out black dress from the back of the closet. It was long and slinky. Had a flowing gauze skirt with a high neckline and a ribbon to fasten it on, intentionally leaving almost all the back bare. It was a dress she wore to her mom’s friend’s violin concert years ago and never again.  
‘It could work’ Cornelia inspected the garment carefully ‘Will, dress up. I think it should still fit you.’ she pushed the silky garment into her hands. Will stood up and pulled off her sweater and comfy sports pants, leaving her in simple mismatched cotton underwear.  
‘I have my work cut out for me’ Cornelia sighed in dramatic fashion motioning at Will ‘she will never learn how to be fashionable…’  
The girls laughed around her and Will shrugged, going into the bathroom to change the underwear. It was not like she did not want to be stylish, she just preferred casual clothes with easy movements. Will typically wore hoodies, sweaters, jeans and cargo pants with sporty shoes. It was the exact opposite of Cornelia with her flowing skirts, dresses and high heels or Hay Lin with crazy colors and creative uses of clothes. Taranee preferred more tribal things and Irma had beach girl style going on. All in all, Will was the most ordinary of them, and looking into the mirror she saw just that. The dress was a bit on the smaller size, so her chest was squeezed into the fabric, but it looked quite good. Going back to the girls, she awkwardly stood in the middle of the room waiting for their opinion.  
‘Spin around, Will!’ Irma ordered critically observing her from every angle ‘The dress looks good, but it’s overly simple for Halloween. Hay Lin now is your turn… Show us some magic!’ she nudged Will to sit on the chair placed near the mirror.  
‘Guys, stop acting like I am hopeless!’ Will complained at being manhandled like a child.  
‘Girls, I need you to find black gloves, a shawl and a makeup set.’ Hay Lin ordered everyone around ‘we could make her into something like a mourning widow’ she instantly offered an idea.  
‘With her hair it would not work’ Taranee refuted searching through the accessories.  
Will sighed wearily, it just seemed so much work for one party, but girls appeared to enjoy the hassle. Dressed all in black, her red hair stood out in vivid color, causing her skin look even paler. It reminded her of crimson roses she saw in Phobos garden.  
‘What about some roses…’ she whispered caressing her red tresses, trying to set it in more elaborate updo.  
‘Roses?’ Hay Lin grabbed her by shoulders making her jump out in scare ‘Roses, what a nice idea! Cornelia can you conjure some roses?’ she asked frantically.  
‘I can try, but they will disappear after some time…’ Cornelia sat on the bed ‘What color do you want them?’ she inquired, already gathering the energy.  
‘White?’ Hay Lin suggested.  
Will shook her head ‘Crimson and black… I want them as dark as you can make it.’ she instructed imagining how they will be used. Maybe it was an odd choice, and not to her usual taste, but for a second Will wondered what Phobos would think seeing her decked out in roses.  
‘Interesting choice, but whatever you desire…’ Cornelia’s hands glowed green. Magic swirled and concentrated into a shape of rose on her palms. One, two, three… before long her bed was covered with dark flowers.  
‘Now what?’ Cornelia panted it took a lot of her energy to conjure things without her Guardian form.  
‘Now, help me decorate’ Will smiled eagerly taking a few blooming roses and pinning them on the neck of the dress. She attached them around the waist, while girls helped with the hemline and the back. Swiftly the dress was overflowing with roses.  
‘What are we doing with these?’ Taranee picked a few leftover flower buds.  
‘We can put it Will’s hair?’ Cornelia suggested fastening the roses on unused hoop and placing it on Will like a crown.  
‘Girrrrrl you look good! Matt’s jaw will hit the floor when he sees you.’ Irma complimented the finished product.  
Will examined herself in the mirror, it was like she exited out of some twisted fairytale. Crimson roses stood out on the dark fabric complimenting her red hair which was adorned with a black crown of flowers. She put on long glittering earrings as the only accessory beside the gloves and a sheer shawl.  
‘Girls, put on your costumes’ she insisted glancing at the clock ‘I do my own makeup’ Will took out red lipstick and black eyeshadows going for a smoky look.  
Chaos ensued as the girls got ready to party. It was already dark when they finished, and Will’s room was messy like a hurricane came and jumbled everything around. Cornelia was first to finish. She wore a long white robe with lots of golden decorations and her hair plaited in a complex way like a woman from Ancient Greece. Irma was a water fairy, with a short blue puffed dress and glittering make up. Teranee chose a Native American look, wearing brown leather dress with lots of strings and feathers in the hair. Hay Lin’s borrowed her grandmother’s traditional red clothes. She pinned her hair into two buns with elaborate golden flower decoration, making her look like a woman from Chinese painting.  
When they reached the club and got out of the taxi, the party was already swinging. With a friendly wave to the guard, they pushed through the door into the building.  
The first thing they saw was a stairway filled with lots of spider webs and plastic candles in every corner leading down to the basement. Spacious and wide room with a low ceiling was stuffed with creepy decorations and people. Loud music vibrated in the air and lights flashed with various colors, creating perfect atmosphere for a Halloween party. Persons in different costumes danced and stood around small tables covered with drinks. Will saw Elyon in green gown, dancing with a tall longhaired guy in a beige coat and beanie. His face was painted white with a thick purple line around the eyes. Girls chosen still free table near the wall, overlooking the scene. The band Cobalt Blue were still getting ready, so the DJ handled the music, playing fast paced dance songs.  
‘I’m getting us some drinks and saying hello to Elyon!’ Cornelia shouted through the noise disappearing into the crowd.  
After a while music was silenced, and the band stepped onto the scene. Will laughed as guys coordinated their costumes. They were dressed in fatigues covered with blood and wore a gruesome make up looking like zombie soldiers. Matt had his neck sliced, Joel’s entrails were bursting out of a shirt, and Peter had a fake eye dangling on his check. They looked ridiculous, but perfectly dressed for Halloween. With a few testing guitar strums the band started a heavy rock song and the crowd went nuts.  
‘I’m going dancing!’ Will yelled and moving into the dance floor with the girls following behind. Lifting her hands up in the air, she relaxed and moved with the flow. From the corner of her eye, she saw girls swirling around and Matt singing on the scene, but Will just let the worries go and danced her head off. Songs changed, girls left and joined again, but Will thoroughly enjoyed freedom of moving with no thoughts. Few guys tried to dance with her, but were refused. She was good alone. The music tempo slowed as Matt started to sing a ballad, and she finally moved to the table.  
‘This was so much fun!’ Will panted whipping down the sweat from her brow.  
‘Hey, Will, long time no see!’ Elyon greeted her, finally joining their group. She wore green dress with leaves wrapped around her waist and in her hair. All of the sudden those long twisted braids reminded her of Phobos and even their coloring seemed a bit similar. Will shook her head dismissing it as coincidence and her own overactive imagination.  
‘Who’s tall, dark and handsome?’ Irma asked smirking at the girl.  
‘Just a guy from a bookstore.’ Elyon rolled her eyes dismissing the question.  
‘And his name is?’ Cornelia curiously pried.  
‘Rick and stop hounding me, I just met him recently!’ Elyon bumped into Cornelia’s shoulder. Somehow Will felt uneasy, she clearly saw her in the bookstore more than a few weeks ago. Why hiding it? Maybe Elyon was just embarrassed? Will brushed the thought away, not wanting to ruin the good mood. The song changed again and Will decided to disregard everything tonight.  
‘I am going to dance again, just give me something to drink.’ she smiled feeling parched, but still full of restless energy.  
‘Here…’ Elyon pushed a glass with red liquid closer to her ‘its cranberry juice with some other stuff in it. They gave really silly names to some of the cocktails today. I present you ‘Siren’s song’… non-alcoholic by the way’ she reassuringly smiled.  
‘Thanks!’ Will nodded taking the glass and swallowing a huge gulp. It was a pleasant sweetened drink with a little bit of sourness, yet it had a bitter aftertaste leaving her tongue strangely numb.  
‘Come on girls, we are going to dance!’ she put down the glass and pulled Cornelia along. They danced and rocked, singed and laughed enjoying the party. After so much exercising Will was tired and strangely shaky.  
‘Will, are you ok?’ Elyon appeared beside and steadied her by the arm.  
‘I don’t feel so good… Can we go to the bathroom?’ her stomach rolled with unease.  
‘Sure…’ Elyon gripped her hand and dragged them through the moving people. Will’s vision swam with bright lights and sounds. Elyon disappeared into the mass of swaying bodies abandoning her to the mercy of the crowd. It was disorienting. They pushed and pulled her body like a dry leaf in the wind. Somehow reaching the nearest wall Will leaned on the cold surface with unsteady legs. Everything felt wrong… she slowly fell on her knees… vision swam like a kaleidoscope… Someone roughly jerked her by the shoulders abruptly hauling her away. She could feel her strength leaving while being carried outside like a sack. When frosty air hit the overheating skin making her shudder Will knew she was in trouble, but was too out of to panic… Slowly her consciousness slipped away…  
Will awoke sitting on the chair with a dull throbbing in head. Her eyes felt gritty and could not recognize the obscure surroundings. Trying to reach her head she jerked her arm, but encountered considerable resistance. Coarse ropes were firmly fastened around her arms and legs digging into the skin, not letting to budge an inch. Her headpiece and shoes were missing, likely lost when she was carried away. The skin around the ankles was irritated, and her arms already started getting numb. The hardback chair she was sitting on was sturdy and digging into her back, even if she struggled to get free it was a futile effort. The air was chilly, and her body uncontrollably trembled to generate heat.  
The sound of slithering came from the dark. Will stilled feigning sleep, assessing the situation. Her heart thudded in panic and adrenaline raging inside. When creepy noise disappeared, she pried open dry eyes. Slowly moving the aching head Will took a look around. The room was filthy, had a slightly damp cement floor and was crammed with old office equipment stuffed around corners. Musty smell off dust, mold and decaying paper clogged her nose. Nothing to identify where she was, just rows of old boxes and used paper spilled around. Odd light flickered behind her and Will turned her head for better view. A portal was opened in the wall. It swirled around radiating bluish light as someone was emerging. She held her breath as the monster slithered inside the room. He was massive and green. Half man and a half something else. His face was elongated and had a red stripe along the slatted eyes with sharp teeth. Pointy tipped ears protruded from the long unbound blonde hair. Yellow stripes littered his bulking and muscly body making him look a hybrid snake. With grace such big body should not possess the monster crawled into the room. He was followed by brown skinned hunkering soldier in a leather vest, cargo pants and metal shoulder guards. The soldier carried no heavy weapons, expect sharp looking daggers strapped to his waist.  
‘Our guessssst is awake…’ a growling voice commented after harshly seizing her by the hair and forcibly bending the head back. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes from the painful tugging and the unnatural bent of the neck. Will tensed her whole body trying to break free from the grasp, but the ropes interfered, preventing the movements. They dug into the skin making it chaff and bleed. The monster wickedly grinned seeing her struggle.  
‘Don’t worry, the ropesss are charmed. We don’t want you to escape so easily.’ he gleefully chuckled patting her check as if consoling a child.  
Will was panicking inside, desperately trying to come up with a solution for the precarious situation. Yet with an empty and frightened mind she was at the mercy of the creature. Not wanting to give him a satisfaction of looking so weak Will glared defiantly. As if sensing her inner struggle the monster laughed and took a glass vial from the soldier. The liquid inside it swirled with vividly violent purple color.  
‘Bottoms up, Guardian!’ he forcefully grabbed her chin and poured liquid down her throat. Will gaged at the bitter taste and spitted half the liquid out, yet the monster was relentless and she swallowed the rest of it in fear of choking.  
‘Help!’ she screamed inside her head. The inner voice strangely echoed as if traveling a vast distance. Happy with the outcome the monster released his grip. Will coughed and sputtered miserably trying to clear her throat.  
‘What did you give me?’ she suddenly groaned everything was getting fuzzy.  
‘Ssssomething to trick your mind and body into cooperation’ he slowly dragged a razor sharp nail down her neck leaving a trail of blood. One sharp cut and the ribbon of the dress was sliced. With a shower of rose petals the dress fallen around her waist leaving her half exposed.  
Will was terrified, but whatever she drank made her weak. Her body was filled with lead and head spun around making her queasy. She was drugged out of her mind. Greedy repulsive hands searched around her body, and she sobbed in utter humiliation.  
‘Where issss it?’ the monster hissed clutching her neck and painfully squeezing it.  
‘Give me the Heart of Kandrakar!’ he shouted almost hoisting her out of the chair. Will thrashed around feeling the unyielding grip crushing the windpipe. It was getting hard to breath. It hurt! Every little breath she stole hurt! The room greyed around the edges… As she helplessly hung in the balance, the Pendant fluttered like a little spark hidden deeply in her soul, sending slight warmth through her body. With all her heart Will wished to be far away and the world just slipped…  
Grass, the first noticeable thing was green grass. It tickled her face, and she could smell the fresh scent of the damp soil. Dimly aware that her body still sat slumped in some basement as she astral walked, Will clutched her tattered dress curled up and cried out in anguish. Fear, anger, humiliation and shame for being too weak everything poured away with loud a sobbing and endless hot tears. She was painfully gasping for air, but could not breathe in…  
A voice was calling. Will did not recognized the words because of buzzing in her head. The sound came and went like a wave. Loud then silent, the meaning of it escaped the distressed mind.  
‘Guardian, snap out of this!’ someone ordered in harsh tone.  
There was a sharp stinging pain on her cheek and Will opened her eyes. Blinking rapidly she gulped the precious air and got a clear image of Phobos face. He was gripping her by the shoulders kneeling on the grass. She yelled in evident alarm and pushed him away with a violent shove.  
‘Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, just please don’t touch me…’ Will mumbled hugging herself and crouching low to the ground, making less of a target. With the closing of the eyes, the world tilted again...  
She was trapped in the dank basement. Groaning Will overheard the things going around her, but everything was out of focus like from underwater.  
‘Lord Cedric, the prisoners are transferred into secure location, we are waiting for your orders.’ a gruff voice spoken.  
‘Excellent. I have to finish here. Guardian is useless for now… I did not calculate a proper amount of the drug. What a failure… humans are weak. Guard the room! We don’t have much time’ a growling voice complained in annoyance. She felt tugging on her hair as her head was lifted, but could not respond to it. The world turned again…  
She was kneeling on the grass. A pale hand hovered just at the edge of touching her.  
‘Guardian… no… Will, what is happening to your body? You are flickering between the worlds...’ Phobos carefully inquired.  
‘Don’t touch me!’ she spat out with helpless anger.  
‘It’s your fault! He is your general…’ Will shouted and cried out in pain clutching her chest. The pink energy crackled from the Heart of Kandrakar sending wrenching spasms through her body. For a second everything went black from the pain, and she clumsily fell on something soft. When unexpected warmth surrounded her like a blanket Will realized how badly she was trembling. The delicious aroma of sandalwood, roses and sweet spices surrounded her. It was familiar, but from where?  
‘Shhhhhhhhh….’ a silken voice comforted muttering inaudible things into her hair.  
Slowly blinking away the blurred view Will realized she was resting in Phobos embrace. There was not enough strength in her body to get off from the comfortable position. And for a moment she did not want to, everything ached too much. He gently pulled her away looking straight into the weary brown eyes.  
‘Guardian, listen to me carefully. You have to travel back to your body. Whatever happened, you are exploiting your life force. At this moment your powers are cut off from Kandrakar…’ he advised releasing his hold.  
‘Why are you helping me? If I go back, your general will kill me...’ Will swayed relying on Phobos hands to keep her straight. Something unexplainable flickered in his eyes and power rose condensing around him. He leaned so close Will could count individual eyelashes and feel warmth from his skin. It left her breathless.  
‘Only I can kill you…’ Phobos whispered, lightly caressing her forehead with his lips.  
‘Oh…’ she breathed out of genuine shock.  
The chaste kiss felt like a feather touch and despite the cruel words the heart fluttered. Everything tingled, like a lightning bolt traveled down her veins. It was hot enough to burn, but not enough to hurt. Gradually the world around her became clearer. The pain and coldness withdrew, and she felt lighter, like suddenly gaining a boost. Strangely rich taste of spicy sugar gathered on her tongue. Will avoided his eyes feeling confused and embarrassed, but much more like herself than before. What has he done to make her feel this way?  
‘Farewell…’ Phobos smirked and with a firm push from his palm sent her away.  
Again Will’s view blurred, but she landed in her own body. It was cold, and her hands and feet were numb, but she could finally think clearly. The profound fatigue from before practically disappeared. Whatever Phobos did to her she was indebted for it. It was better to die from his hand than be killed tied up and vulnerable in some abandoned basement. Pretending to be sleeping Will looked around from the corner of her eyes. Cedric was slithering beside the portal talking to a few soldiers gathered around, not noticing her awake state. Silently testing the bonds, she could not rip them off, but maybe loosen them up a bit. Concentrating on the work Will noticed a silent voice calling her, but nobody beside the monsters was nearby.  
‘Will! Will! Answer me!’ Taranee reached out for her in desperate voice.  
‘Taranee?’ she thought, feeling quite silly trying to communicate with a friend who was definitely not around.  
‘Oh, thank god, you finally answered! Before you freak out, yes we are talking telepathically’ the girl eagerly explained.  
‘We heard your call for help, and you were missing. It took some time to discover my telepathy powers… ok, I am rambling… have to stop…sorry still difficult only to think… We found where you are, following the loose rose petals. We found your head piece too… Anyway give us our powers!’ Taranee rapidly talked as if trying to sound brave. Will frowned trying to comprehend all of it.  
The girls found her. Relief filled her. She will be going home just needed to escape from here. Calling out the Heard of Kandrakar Will whispered ‘Guardians unite!’  
Five different colored lights shot out of the pendant going through the wall. Warm pink light surrounded her in comforting manner transforming her form. Heart of Kandrakar painfully crackled with pink sparks. The drugs were still in her bloodstream causing her to use the life force for the changing. Will sagged in the chair feeling like the additional strength dispersed her body. Suddenly there was a commotion outside and the door opened with a bang. She could not concentrate on the battle. There were water balls flying around and wines seizing the soldiers. Cedric was roaring dodging balls of flame and then everything caught on fire…  
‘Will, close the portal!’ Cornelia screamed pushing the snake monster into the vortex with her vines. Will focused her magic and the portal slowly got smaller until it vanished leaving the bare wall. The basement was ablaze. The boxes and trash burned around them, making it hard to breath. Will coughed inhaling the acrid smoke and the flames sizzled around her ankles… Hay Lin swam into her vision… Irma was frantically shouting… she was so exhausted… everything faded away…


	9. Chapter 8

A warm wind blew through the tall open ornate windows, gently swaying the sheer green drapes all around the vast hall. Sun rays were flickering from the lofty marble columns producing brightly lit shapes on the pale floor. A path covered with long light green carpet led to the grand ivory and gold throne in the middle of the room. Servants milled around, whispering in hushed voices, replacing all kinds of cut flowers in the large vases filling the room with a fresh fragrant aroma. They worked diligently and hastily trying not to disturb the silent figure sitting on the throne.  
Phobos gritted his teeth, feeling irritated and the Guardian was at fault. Seeing her crying in his garden, looking utterly helpless and knowing that indirectly he placed her there, made his mood sour. He did not want to see her hurt. There was little glimmer of guilt too and that made him even more irritated. He should not care about her. Kandrakar represented an enemy. The Guardians were their soldiers foiling everything… Yet, the Guardian of the Heart felt like a burning spark and that old meddling medallion just sent the girl to him repeatedly. He should have slain her the first time she disturbed his garden, but feeling pity for the injured and being a benevolent fool, he healed her instead. Later they met once more. The girl seemed so similar to him, a young Guardian long time ago. She was full of life and brave spirit, he could not bring himself to harm her more than she already was. The fact that the girl opposed him fully knowing he could ruthlessly crush her at any given moment was just a spice in their encounters. No matter how he tried to frighten her, the Guardian remained fearless. Brave, yet so vulnerable. That was his undoing.  
She intrigued him, made him feel something more than negative feelings. Plaguing his mind like an obsession, a spark he could not touch. How long ago he had another human being in his arms? How long ago he felt like himself and not an image created to fulfil his duty? Was it before he was woken up, no it was when Weira… mother was alive. Phobos missed those carefree days, the freedom of them. Despite clearly being afraid, the Guardian continued disturbing him, bringing temptation and fun to his dull days. He should have manipulated her. It would have been so easy to seduce the girl to his will, to taint that innocence… However, he merely played and toyed with her wanting to observe the unexpected reactions. She did not disappoint. When Guardian was fighting for her life, he made an impulsive decision at a time, to help. Giving her a drop of his magic, a tiny amount to hang on. Phobos smirked recalling how she completely melted into his arms so warm and defenseless and he wanted more… and the felling irked beyond belief. He should not want it, have to be smarted than that and yet… His lips burned remembering the innocent sweet peck. The swiftest way to share power…  
Phobos mind was going in circles. He could not afford to be vulnerable, not now when so much hung in a balance. He wanted to know her better. Was it because the Guardian was off limits or because she was unafraid of him? Plagued by the forbidden thoughts, knowing everything would end in disaster on both sides, he still pursued her. Why was he so greedy? It would be wise to crush these feelings before it’s overdue, but the illicit seed was already sown.   
With his increasing frustration the magic simmered under the skin, itching like ants were crawling beneath. Everything appeared displeasing too much sun, too bright, too many people. The sounds, the smells… He was going to explode from all the repressed magic reacting to the tightly bottled feelings. He wanted to see her… see what Cedric caused, the consequences of his actions of ordering the general to Earth.  
‘Everyone out!’ Phobos ordered and his deep voice echoed in the hall. The people were startled, but promptly obeyed the direct order scattering into every direction. Oppressive silence filed the room. Phobos stood up and paced. Abruptly stopping with an enraged scream, he forcefully released the turbulent magic out of his body. It swirled like a tornado going straight into the sky.  
Dark ominous clouds gathered outside and the sun slowly disappeared leaving the hall in the shadows. A promise of a storm was in the air. The wind rose creating a strong draft, tearing up fresh flowers, the petals danced in the air. Thunder boomed outside as the lightning struck, and the rain erupted from the sky like a heavy curtain. Phobos frantically panted hugging himself, such sudden release of his tightly contained magic left him breathless and lightheaded. He was getting weaker, bit by bit his magic will dry out. The time was running out. Gathering himself up and pushing fallen hairs out his eyes, he felt much more relaxed than before. The miserable weather perfectly reflected his current mood. The magic wards placed on the rooms flared announcing an arrival. He breathed out pushing the unsettling feelings away and adorning the indifferent face, a mask for the people to see. Without a warning heavy door flung open with a loud bang and Cedric strode into the throne room. He looked winded up, some of his hair were burned and robes were covered in soot.  
‘My prince.’ he bowed in greeting, stopping just before him ‘I have recently arrived, and the prisoners were transported without any interferences.’   
‘And my sister?’ Phobos inquired, rising an eyebrow. The insufficient report was given and the simmering rage increased looking at Cedric. He was a competent servant, loyal to a certain degree, but a coward serving only himself when an opportunity arose. Phobos knew he could not place his trust to him entirely. Cedric already went above his orders playing with Guardians. But he had his uses was and he required a teacher for his sister.   
‘She is waiting on the other side. I failed to bring her, because Guardians closed the portal. Once I open a new portal, she agreed to cross into our world…’ he stammered looking cowed avoiding looking directly at him.  
‘You fool! I issued you an order to bring her back!’ Phobos backhanded his face with a swift strike. Cedric staggered from an unexpected hit and spat out blood on the white floor. Instantly kneeling on the ground, he lowered head in humble submission.   
‘I apologize, my lord. Your sister wanted to take the Heart of Kandrakar from the Guardians and present it to you, but I failed to do so. One good thing is, I now know how they look without the usual glamour, so we can strike them when they are most vulnerable on the Earth. I almost had their leader…’ Cedric explained trying to paint his failure in more favorable light.   
‘Leave Guardians alone for now’ Phobos ordered ‘I gave you a task to bring back my sister, to advise and guide her. Why are you focusing on useless things?’ the prince wondered lifting Cedric’s chin and looking straight into his eyes. There was fear in them. Good, he should be afraid…  
‘Now get out…’ Phobos aggressively shoved him away.  
Cedric fell on the ground in a clumsy heap. Trying not to look completely undignified, he promptly stood up patting down the robes and backed out of the room, bowing before the exit.  
‘Oh… and Cerdic, send me a girl to the garden…’ Phobos added in afterthought as if just remembering something.  
It was still heavily raining when he sat in the gazebo nearly hidden in the greenery, enjoying the view of the misty garden. The sole thing he heard was the rain drops hitting the roof and the silent mysterious whispers of the plants. A figure was darting around the bushes following the hidden path through the roses. She stopped under the roof breathing heavily, her pale dress was drenched in the rain sticking to her like a glue.   
‘My Lord.’ she breathed out giving a formal curtsy before him. The young woman was clearly nervous and unsure why precisely she was ordered to entertain him. Phobos sighed looking at the slightly trembling figure, this was not what he had in mind, but it would have to do. She was of mixed blood. Her rosy skin was littered with green stripes around the shoulders and neck, between her intricately braided brown locks protruded pointed ears. With each breath her ample chest moved, and he could see the pink nipples straining against the sheer wet fabric. A sudden spike of lust traveled down his body with another image of dripping red hair clinging to the long neck and water drops trailing white unblemished skin. With the sheer will of the mind, he pushed the image away and focused on the girl. It was not a place or time to have such thoughts.  
‘Are you one of the Madam Ruby’s girls?’ he asked recalling the high-end brothel the nobles frequently visited. He did not forbid such place existence. Some girls needed to work and men always wanted the pleasure it could provide. Also, Madam was good source of interesting knowledge, and he used her to gather the blackmailing information.  
‘Indeed, my lord.’ she politely answered bowing her head.  
‘Do you enjoy your work?’ Phobos inquired the bewildered girl standing before him. It would be excellent if she was as desperate as she seemed. It would be easier to persuade her for the intended purpose.  
‘Sometimes, my lord… there is a roof over my head and warm food… When men are gentle, it is not unpleasant. Better than being homeless…’ she answered truthfully and quickly paled ‘I apologize, my lord, I did not intended to appear rude…’ the young woman stammered out, bowing down in fear of his temper she heard so much about in passing whispers.  
‘Come, allow me to show you something…’ Phobos rose and grasped the trembling hand gently urging the girl outside into the rain. They walked between the bushes, his hair and robes getting wet, until reaching the middle of the garden.   
‘What if I told you that your insignificant life could make a difference?’ Phobos asked, turning around to observe the shivering woman.   
‘I do not quite understand, my lord…’ she hugged herself, trying to maintain warmth in the pouring rain.  
‘Let me demonstrate…’ he muttered, briefly closing his eyes.   
Gently steering her to kneel on the ground and spreading the rosy palm on the wet grass, he threaded his magic into her body, letting see beyond the invisible. Roses clustered around her, curiously nipping girl’s dress, pulling her hair and whispering, always whispering. Her eyes glazed over and body swayed with unfamiliar rush. She never experienced the magic of the world as she did not possess it on her own. When the girl opened her eyes, they were filled with unshed tears ‘My lord, how can this be...’ she trailed looking around the garden and caressing the rose near her cheek in gentle manner.  
‘Greed is the vice of men… Your life could help to maintain the balance until order is restored…’ Phobos turned away tasting the words of the bitter truth. His garden, the only loved and sacred possession in life was also the most sinister and tragic. It was made from sacrifices, to keep him and the planet afloat, until he could rectify the wrongs done to it.  
‘Will I die?’ the anxious girl asked, painfully biting her lip.   
‘No, you will sleep, sometimes serving as my eyes and ears. There will be no pain, nor the hunger or suffering, merely existing in between, where time does not matter’ Phobos shook his head, reassuring her fears.  
‘Will I ever be myself again?’   
‘The spell can be lifted and will be, when my sister sits on the throne. You have nothing to fear.’ he explained wondering how long he has to keep up with this burden.  
‘Don’t blame yourself, my prince… if my life is worth something I gladly offer it to you’ she smiled reassuringly with a whole face brightening. Phobos could not believe how selfless sometimes people could be.  
‘Bless you…’ the prince bent down and caressed her cheek. Kissing the brow, he tenderly murmured a forsaken spell veiling her with a shroud of blurred glow. When he got up a new rose stood in her place. White with a greenish tint in the petals. Ruthlessly cutting his hand with magic, he willingly let the blood drops fall to the ground nourishing the newborn rose with his essence.   
‘What a lovely addition you make…’ he whispered a genuine compliment. White rose’s glossy leaves shuddered, and he undoubtedly heard a silent laugh in the wind. Languidly clouds cleared up letting the sunshine through the drizzle making the grass shine like a green gem. Water drops glistened on the roses like diamonds catching the sun rays. He wearily sighed walking away into the castle feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders… Another rose added, a few more months to hold on…  
A sudden storm with a howling wind and pouring rain raged outside the hospital where four girls sat huddled upon uncomfortable plastic chairs. The battle was over, but Will did not awaken even with magic healing Cornelia gave to cover up the wounds. Girls had no choice, but to call the ambulance and fabricate a story about how she was drugged and taken away. In fact they did not know what happened for sure. One minute Will was dancing, and then she was missing, later they all heard her desperate call for help. Next hour was spent urgently dashing around trying to find clues. Then Taranee found out she could telepathically talk with Will and everything went to hell. Seeing her slumped and tied up in the chair was a startling realization that Guardians were never safe on Earth like they imagined it. The course of the fight changed, and they almost lost Will, the most important figure in the group.  
‘The wind is angry…’ Hay Lin muttered playing with the plastic cup of terrible coffee ‘I can almost feel tendrils the magic dancing in the air. This storm is not natural…’ she nervously shook holding onto her knees.  
‘Do you think that monster made it just to spite us?’ Irma scoffed ‘we probably burned his tail off or something…’  
‘Can you for once be serious?’ Cornelia rolled her eyes in irritation ‘we practically lost!’  
‘That’s true... we should have been more careful knowing that the general was here. Too late to regret now… I called Will’s mom explaining the situation, but I guess all of our parents are on their way to the hospital.’ Tarranee said shuddering and gathering her coat closer around the body.  
‘We are in so much trouble’ Cornelia moaned ‘police will show up. Doctors had to take Will’s blood for testing. We have no idea what that monster gave her. What should we tell them?’ she signed pacing around ‘should we call Matt? I think he would like to know?’  
‘Maybe later, when Will wakes up’ answered Taranee ‘she did not met with him in weeks…’  
‘Girls, heads up, my dad is coming! I think he’s here on official business’ Irma hissed looking into the hospital entrance where police car stopped with slowly flashing lights.  
‘That’s Mrs. Vandom and my mum…’ Taranee stood up worried.  
‘We are screwed…’ Cornelia said facing the girls with serious expression ‘Okay, we practiced this. Lies spun with truth are easier to believe. Don’t be nervous, speak clearly, we owe this to Will. When she wakes up whichever closest of us at the time explain the story to her. We have to be specific, or they catch on our lies. Maybe later Will think of something… Now let’s do this!’ the girls gathered around and walked to meet their families. They had lies to spread.


	10. Chapter 9

Dark, everything around her was dark like swimming in the ink. It was hard to think, images floated around but she could not capture them they slipped away into the darkness. Time moved slowly, but there was a feeling of sluggishly going up like emerging from the muddied water. Her body felt heavy and warm, and the bed was uncomfortable as the coarse sheets were itchy on her skin. Realizing she could open her eyes, Will groaned as the view slowly came into the focus. Sterile room with white walls, narrow table with a chair an old television mounted on the panel, this was a hospital. Trying to recollect what happened, she attempted to grasp the glass full of water sitting on the table. The drip with a needle in her arm hindered the movements. Her mouth was parched and had a terrible bitter aftertaste. The door opened and mom walked in, seeing her awake she frantically rushed over hugging tightly.  
‘Will, oh baby, you alright! Are you thirsty? Let me help… here’ she pushed glass into her hand sitting on the chair beside her.   
‘Mum? What….’ Will started but not finished taking a small sip of water. It felt amazingly cold, and she quickly drank the whole glass. Startled when door opened again and Mr. Lair walked in police uniform, she unconsciously shuddered.  
‘Good evening Will, Mrs. Vandom. Or should I say morning, very early morning’ he greeted them with a tired smile.   
‘This is an official visit and seeing Will is finally awake, I have to take her statement. So Will tell me what happened to you?’ he took a battered pad out of his pocket with a pen nodding in her direction. Will was confused, what does she remember? Everything felt fogy, so she remained silent looking through the window. It was night outside with a few lonely streetlights shining in the dark. The weather was dreadful. Fierce wind pelted heavy raindrops against the glass, creaking in the trees. Suddenly a violent gust of crashed open the window yanking the curtains around and creating cold draft. She felt some magic in it, swirling with familiar irritation and anger. It tasted like sugar in her mouth.  
‘Oh…’ Will doubled over clutching head in her hands. Memories twisted in her mind… Dancing… drinking… Cedric...torture…pain…Phobos…the girls…the fight…  
It lasted just a second and when she opened her eyes, mom was wrangling with the curtains. Irma’s dad hovered beside the bed clearly concerned by her pale face.  
‘I’m sorry Mr. Lair. My head hurts and everything is so foggy’ she smiled, but it came out more like a grimace ‘I remember we were dancing at the concert with the girls. Then we talked, danced, and drank some weird named stuff. Don’t worry everything was nonalcoholic. That was a club policy for a Halloween concert and then I don’t know, I felt weird… I thought I drank something not agreeing with my stomach so went to the ladies room, but… I have no idea what happened next… I woke up here?’ Will flopped back into the pillows still feeling tired and lying through her teeth. She did not know what girls told him trying to cover up the mess they made, so she pretended to be clueless until further notice.  
‘Miss Vandom, you were drugged. We came across some unknown chemical mix in your blood. I am not surprised you don’t remember everything’ Mr. Lair explained looking at her with worry.  
‘I want to know how what happened, but with so little to go on there is nobody to fault here. However, the building girls found you burned to the ground. It’s unlikely we will find the perpetrator.’   
‘My daughter was not physically assaulted’ Susan stated squeezing her hand ‘everything is alright, isn’t?’ she reassuringly asked. Will remained silent glancing at her wrists. Not even a scratch remained, Cornelia must have healed the damage from the ropes. What a relief, those would require awkward explanations. At the same time it was hard to forget how helpless she felt in the enemy hands. Will wanted to cry, but stubbornly refused to let the tears fall, until she will be left alone.   
‘Yes, Will is very lucky girl to have such good friends. If they did not discovered her, I don’t want to imagine what would have happened. I leave you to rest and inform Irma you woke up. They wanted to wait for you, but everyone were taken home. I have no doubt you will see them in the morning’ he offered her a smile. ‘Mrs. Vandom, miss Vandom, goodnight. If you remember anything else, call me’ Mr. Lair said and with a nod to their direction left the room. Exhaustion settled in and she wanted nothing more just to sleep and forget what happened, but seeing her mother’s worried face Will put on a strong mask.  
‘Mom, everything is alright. I don’t remember much, but nothing happened. You should go home and get some sleep’ she smiled wanting to be left alone. It was distressing to deceive her mother. Will felt like her life become a tangle of lies and it unintentionally hurt. She had nobody to rely on and for once to be the one taken care of.   
‘Oh honey, how can I? Do you have any idea how afraid I was receiving a call from the hospital? Never do this again.’   
Will sniffed into her shoulder. It was warm and safe. For a moment she could pretend the world outside did not exist, and there were no risk to her life for a cause Kandrakar gave her.   
‘You must be tired’ Susan examined her face finding the pallor too pallid.  
‘Get some sleep’ she guided Will onto the pillows gently tucking her in. ‘You will see me first thing in the morning’ Susan gently caressed her hair.   
Will internally sighed, sleep sounded like a good idea and pillows were soft, but somehow it was frightening. Squeezing her mother’s hand, she relaxed trying to feign sleep. Some time has passed, and she must have dozed off, but was roused by the silent closing of the door. Mother has finally left. Hugging herself Will rolled into the small ball and shuddered. So alone and useless. Her throat hurt trying to hold in the silent sobs. She cried knowing this was the only undisturbed time to do it. When the morning comes, she will have to stay strong, appearing normal to her mom and friends as if nothing ever happened. It was not the first or last time Will done this, a leader of the Guardians could not be anything less than perfect.   
Wishing for a strong hold as she broke apart Will cried by herself, remembering how she did this with the only person she should not. Hoping that next time they meet Phobos would not use that moment of weakness against her. At hopeless moment when he offered comfort Will felt safe in his arms. He helped her with nothing in exchange. Deep inside her heart a dangerous attraction festered. Even knowing how wrong that was, Will wanted to feel his lips one more time. Imagining something more than innocent kiss on the brow Will was instantly ashamed and torn by her own feelings. She could not and should not want him. It went against everything the girls believed in. Will cried harder in sorrow. The Heart of Kandrakar buzzed reacting to its Keeper distress. The cocoon of calm and relaxing magic surrounded her and Will fell into exhausted sleep.  
The rest of the night was restless and riddled with nightmares. Dreaming of being bounded and surrounded by aggressive shadow people which groped her body with no restraint she screamed and woke up covered in sweat. Gathering her breath together Will rose from the bed and paced in the room angry at the whole situation. She could not afford to be weak. Grabbing her pendant Will prayed for strength to forget and cope with her own failure. Getting a morning visit from the doctor who informed nothing was wrong with her and remove of the drip, Will was escorted to hospital canteen for communal breakfast. After unsatisfying breakfast containing of fruits and porridge, she went back to her ward. Her mother was in the room talking to the nurse. She smiled in greeting and went out to sign the documents for confirmation of her release. Will noticed a bag left on the bed and looking through its contents was very grateful to find casual clothes. Getting out of the hospital gown and dressing in jeans, tank top and cozy sweater made her feel like human again. Finding the black dress in the small cupboard ruined it. It was put in the plastic bag all dirty and torn. Feeling nausea rising Will shoved the fabric back in the bag and took a deep breath. The moment was interrupted when someone barged in… Her body was pushed back as Taranee collided with her in fierce hug.  
‘Will, thank god you are awake!’ she sniffed into her shoulder. Looking around Will noticed other girls gathered into one big hug. The warmth expanded inside her. Having friends who cared and helped even in the worst situations was reassuring.   
‘Enough, let her breath.’ Cornelia smiled extracting herself from the pile.  
‘I’m glad you are okay…’ Irma punched her in the shoulder ‘please, do not do that ever again.’  
‘Yeah, Will we almost lost you… who was that monster?’ Hay Lin pushed her on the bed and sitting beside.  
‘His name is Cedric and he is Phobos general and probably his right hand…’ Will silently replied shuddering slightly. ‘He wanted Heart of Kandrakar, but I don’t know how he managed to find me or what he gave me. Everything is scrambled in my memory from the drugs. I’m just very glad that you found me, thank you girls… without you, I don’t know what would have happened to me’ Will remained silent about the actual events, being grateful to another person who helped her. She lied. It was wrong to repeatedly deceive the girls, but Will already owed him and betraying this secret in her heart felt worse that lying.   
‘Will we have to tell you something else’ Cornelia started nervously biting her lip.  
‘Elyon is missing and her parents too. Not much information is disclosed, but we think she was taken with you and brought over to Meridian. You were the last one to see her, maybe you remember something more?’ she sniffed as her eyes filled with unshed tears.   
Will frowned that could not have been right. No one else was in the basement. Elyon offered her a drink, later helped her get through the crowd and abandoned her in the middle of it. She recalled someone grabbing from behind. Will felt nausea building in her stomach. Something seemed very wrong, all the secrecy and Elyon disappearing at random times, her lies. The only conclusion Will come up was that Elyon betrayed her. It seemed unbelievable in her mind. Reserving the judgement until she had more information Will swallowed her doubts.  
‘I don’t know. I lost Elyon in the crowd the basement was empty, beside monsters and me’ she shrugged trying not to flinch. The memories were too fresh in her mind.  
‘My father is looking for her. They were missed this morning, when he went to talk to Elyon about the party. From what I overheard their house is left with all their things in it. Nothing was missing just lots of disturbance in the kitchen. You know it could be just normal break in or something…’ Irma said frowning.  
‘It’s not! My best friend is missing and probably in some monsters hands! How can you be so calm? We should do something!’ Cornelia shouted out her frustration.  
‘Cornelia, think about it! Elyon and her parents are gone since yesterday, it could have been just a simple robbery or kidnapping. Let the police do their jobs. Not everything has to be magical!’ Irma reasonably explained, annoyed with her friend she never took her opinion seriously.  
‘I think we should check the house, maybe police overlooked something.’ Taranee offered placating the rising argument.  
‘Good idea. It’s not like they know what to look for, police don’t believe in magic’ Hay Lin offered her opinion. Cornelia huffed, it was too much for her to process and girls did not understand her feelings. Her friendship with Elyon was drifting away, and she wanted to save her friend. It felt like she owed her something with all the lies they spun to hide the Guardian’s secret.  
‘Just help me, okay? I want to find Elyon as soon as possible’ she relented looking through the window. Yesterday’s storm blown away barely hanging leaves from the trees. They stood bare in the gray sky. Suddenly the door opened startling the girls out of their musings and Susan came in.  
‘Good afternoon girls, I did not expect you this early…’ Susan smiled seeing daughter surrounded by her loyal friends ‘I wanted to thank you, for yesterday. If you did not located Will… ’ with teary eyes she hugged Taranee who stood closest to her.  
‘You don’t have to thank us, Mrs. V. Will, is our friend and we always support each other’ Hay Lin reassured sniffing woman.  
‘Isn’t that right girls, best friends forever?’ she called out extending her hand.  
‘Yeah!’  
‘Uhu!’  
‘Friends forever!’  
‘…and always!’  
Girls placed their hand together in a circle and let them go with a motto ‘W.I.T.C.H!”.  
They laughed out loud briefly forgetting their worries, simply enjoying being together as only best friends can.  
Later when her mum drove them home Will looked outside car window seeing the world go by. Her heart hurt and mind churned. If she was right Elyon poisoned her, and Will had no idea why. Telling this to the girls would probably rise more arguments, especially from Cornelia. Elyon was her childhood friend and declaring to Cornelia she thought Elyon betrayed them all was not an option at the moment. She lacked useful information. Finally, deciding to help girls search the house Will went home feeling drained and weary. Her life just gotten even more complicated.


	11. Chapter 10

After returning from the hospital Will spent her day with mother reassuring her that everything was alright. Later at night sitting alone in the dark room, she thought everything was not alright. It was a second instance in a few months troubles happened resulting into the injuries, and every time Phobos helped her out. She ruined her chance with Matt, lied to friends about everything and now it seemed her thoughts wanted to drown her. Noticing the silence in the apartment and sleeping appliances Will made up her mind. Rising up she called on the power from the Heart of Kandrakar. Warm pink light surrounded her transforming the body, covering it with tight green and purple uniform. Will always felt lighter and stronger in her Guardian form sensing the power running through her body. Taking the medallion into her hands Will focused on the person she wanted to see and prayed. Feeling a bit silly, she opened eyes and sighed. Nothing happened. She had no idea how the traveling worked, beside the mysterious Heart interferences. Focusing Will thought about him and a little kiss which made her heart flutter. The mirror in her room flickered gaining opaque color not reflecting the area anymore. Gathering the courage Will placed a hand on the glass. The palm went straight through the surface. Holding her breath she slipped to the other side, exiting into a long corridor through the old-fashioned gold framed mirror, hanging on the wall. Aware of the exposure and frustrated about not finding the intended person she slipped into the room with a slightly ajar door. It was a gallery full of paintings and curtains. Fresh flowers were arranged in the huge standing vases, comfortably set around the empty places between the frames. Her breath caught in the chest seeing Phobos gently caressing a big portrait of a woman. She was beautiful, painted in intricate green white and gold dress with a wide see-through Elizabethan collar. Her brown braided hair was adorned with a green cap which had a clear diamond drop hanging from between the eyebrows. In fact, the whole room was filled with portraits of females in different dresses but all looking regal and proud.   
‘Guardian, I thought you will not come again seeing as you left in less than pleasant circumstances’ he spoke not turning around. There was no surprise in his voice. Phobos always sensed when she was nearby.  
‘I came to thank you… whatever you did it gave me a fighting chance… so much appreciated…’ Will unconsciously shuddered, taking a few steps closer. The words left a strange taste in her mouth, being thankful to the enemy was odd experience. It took time for her to sort out her feelings. Even if she blamed him for lots of things without his interference Will would have broken down sooner, not fighting at all. To her it was a slight proof, he was not as bad as she thought.  
‘Cedric went against the orders. It was the least I could do… only I have a right to kill you’ Phobos smirked, but something danced in his eyes melting away the ice. He approached her coming so close Will could feel heat radiating from his body.   
‘What did you do to me?’ she breathlessly asked the question on her mind. She remembered the feeling of clarity and tingles traveling through her body, making everything more vivid than it was before. Again the remarkable power thrummed around him and her own magic was restlessly pounded with her heart. Like gravity was pushing them together so close they could touch, but with enough leeway to get away.   
‘I gave you a drop of my power, a tiny piece magic, of myself…’ Phobos lifted hand and gently caressed her forehead between the red tresses, an invisible mark of him ‘… be grateful, Guardian, it is a precious gift…’  
‘Why?’ Will looked up in surprise unconsciously exposing her neck. Her heart was fluttering inside the chest like a butterfly ready to flight.  
‘Consider it an impulse on my part… but do you really not understand?’ he whispered, his blue eyes darkened into deep dark pools, trailing the exposed flesh. Will shivered lost in his heated gaze, scared to cross that invisible line they walked. He was a person she was not supposed to be attracted to. However, he was so close she could feel his every breath. Before Will could think about pulling away he took a given opportunity. His soft lips were kissing her. Gentle at first, testing the waters of her submission, but slowly exploring as if requesting permission for more. Will willingly surrendered and his insistent mouth parted her lips, sending tremors into her nerves from the unyielding passion he claimed her with. Seeking even more Phobos grasped her back and pushed other hand into her hair pulling her body close, molding it against him. Will wrapped her arms around his neck feeling the thrill of holding onto something forbidden, caressing the long silky tresses on his collar. She felt like drowning in the taste of him so dark and intense. It made her knees weak, and her body ached as the lust pooled into the belly. Will had never known she was capable of this feeling. Letting herself go she curiously darted her tongue into his mouth. Phobos shuddered, making the sound in the back of his throat something between a moan and a growl. With fervently ignited desire he ravaged her enjoying the forbidden fruit. Will was sept away, with burning body she moaned and Phobos tensed hearing the sensual sound. He slowed the kiss down guiding to innocent pecks and gentle biting until they just stood breathing heavily. Neither of them moved afraid of shattering the moment, because this would not change anything, they still were on opposite sides in a war.   
Somewhere in the castle door loudly banged hitting the wall and they jumped apart in alarm. Phobos looked at Will with dilated eyes quickly forcing her under the heavy curtain and muttering the spell into her hair, locking the partitions in place.  
‘Will, you cannot be discovered… whatever you overhear, keep silent and allow me explain… do not disappear, please… ’ he could not complete the sentence, pulling away as the steps grew closer. Hiding under the curtain Will bit into her lip. It seemed the whole world turned over its head as her body still tingled with unexpected pleasure. She knew kissing Phobos was wrong, but first time in her life she felt smoldering heat. The silly crush on Matt could not compare to the passion Phobos poured into her. It made her want to do things she could only imagine, and that was the crux of the problem. Their connection should have never had happened. Will could not betray her friends or the mission she was burdened with. She was pulled apart by the seams. Her heart wanted more, but the mind knew it was futile, their association would lead to the mountains of hurt. As Phobos stood there, Will could almost see the masks he was putting back on. Those of a ruler, a tyrant, the Phobos all the world know. She wanted to tear it apart and see what was hiding inside.  
‘Good evening, brother. I was looking everywhere for you.’ a familiar voice spoken opening the door and Will’s world tumbled down again. Elyon entered dressed with a blue robe with green high collared blouse underneath. Her braided hair was adorned with a silver headband on the forehead, the sign of royalty. She glided into the room stopping just beside Phobos and Will wanted to scream. The similarities were uncanny. How could she have been so stupid? They looked so alike. The same hair color even if Phobos was lighter of the two, the braids they liked to adorn. Blue eyes, in Elyon’s case gray-blue in color then the icy sheen Phobos had and those high cheekbones. Now, dressed in the same fashion they looked like a family. Elyon was the missing heiress of the Meridian.   
‘Elyon, is something the matter?’ he asked, turning around and facing her with an arched eyebrow.  
‘Well, since everything is new for me, I just wanted to know where… oh!’ Elyon’s attention was captured by the portrait on the wall. Leaning closer to it, she almost dazedly stretched out a hand touching the colors. It was so similar to the gesture Phobos was doing before, it gave her a heartache.  
‘Is this mother?’ she asked in reverie at the woman painted on the portrait.  
‘Yes, she is yours… our mother…’ Phobos sighed looking at the beautiful painting, remembering the only person he was so familiar with.  
‘Can you tell me more about her?’ Elyon silently asked still not really knowing how to act around him, being the only child all her life. Phobos looked at the girl standing near. So alike in appearance, but very different from him. The same blood flowed in their veins, and yet he did not had any sibling attachment to this person. It must have been hard for her to abandon everything she knew about life. On the other hand, if he does not act like a brother, it will be harder to steer her to the fate he planned for her.   
‘Accept my apology Weira… I must finish this, even if you never forgive me…‘ he bitterly thought glancing at the portrait. How quickly the wheel turned. A moment ago he lost in burning desire, almost crossing the line. The pliable Guardian’s body in his arms awakened all-consuming thirst. It wrecked his reasoning of how dangerous their connection was. It made him forget things which should not be forgotten. Now, with Elyon was standing beside, Phobos knew the moment with Will was over. She will not remain after seeing this. Swallowing the sudden resentment, he answered Elyon’s question.  
‘Mother was kind and clever, stubborn too, had a steel core running through her spine. When she wanted, Weira was a force to be reckoned with… very protective, but at the same time nurturing. I may be talking in contradictions, but mother… Weira was everything I cared about… she would have loved you like nobody else…’ he smiled just a bit recalling the woman who offered the world to him.  
‘I hate it. It’s all their fault… Kandrakar, Guardians, Rebels… they stole the life I could have!’ Elyon cried out in anger squeezing her hands into the fists.   
‘You had a life on Earth. Was it terrible?’ he inquired with curiosity, wanting to know what she thought about abandoning her friends.  
‘It was a lie! That life was one big fat lie! My friends betrayed me and my parents were imposters! All I wanted was to fit in, but I always felt different never knowing why! Now Kandrakar is destroying my home! I will show them what a true fight feels like. It’s a pity Cedric did not kill the Guardian!’ Elyon fumed pacing around angry with the situation and the world, all that anger had nowhere to go. There was an urge shred everything apart and let them taste the pain she felt when learning the truth of her origins. Reacting to the rapidly changing emotions magic gathered in her, whipping the hair in all directions and popping pale sparks around the body.   
‘Leave the Guardians alone. You are not strong enough to challenge them and control yourself!’ Phobos instantly ordered grabbing Elyon by the elbow, trying to push her magic away.  
‘Disregard everything learned from Earth, now you are the Princess of the Meridian, show some decorum! You have an image to uphold!’ he dictated and slowly letting go looking for any signs of calming her down, but to no avail.  
‘Nobody orders me around!’ Elyon hissed and her eyes glazed over gaining pale green almost white sheen. Magic crackled in the air charging with light bolts all around. Will gasped quickly covering her mouth to stop the sound. The immense tension permeated the room. Only Phobos stood tall not reacting to chaos around him.  
‘Elyon! Snap out of it!’ he called unleashing the power of his voice. It almost echoed in the chamber.  
To Will’s surprise Elyon stopped, panting heavily and wobbling on unsteady legs. She leaned onto the wall, but her eyes were clear.   
‘Sorry… I don’t know what happened… I am so sorry…’ the girl stammered lowering eyes trying not to look at her brother. What has she done? Shame seized her, Phobos was the only family here, and she acted like a crazy person. He was an intimidating figure and now there was no chance they will talk as normal siblings do.   
‘Never let the magic rule you or there will be consequences. I may be your brother, but also I am your Prince. You will obey me!’ he furiously hissed towering above her.   
Will never heard his voice so enraged shivering with understanding why people were frightened of him. She saw him in various moods, but this was a cold furry bubbling under the surface. Anger combined with his massive magical reserves was an overwhelming duet. Will looked at the cowed Elyon secretly enjoying her humiliation. It seemed her worse fears were true, she betrayed them all and wanted Guardians dead. Whatever fabricated story Elyon discovered made her dangerous. Swallowing the unexpected tears Will despaired about what to tell the rest of the girls. Without proof nobody would believe her and any evidence she could provide came from enemy hands. Her heart ached, one minute she soared high above ground, next she crashed down.   
Why her life was so complicated? Everything around her was collapsing like a house of cards.   
‘Sister, I think you should go. There is still so much you have to learn.’ Phobos tightly contained voice ushered distraught Elyon out of the room.   
The girl stopped at the doorstep ‘I will learn… I’ll show you. I can be useful…’ she promised with determination in her eyes ‘and I apologize for what happened. It will never happen again.’ she made a small nod and turned around.  
‘We will see… go and find Cedric he will help with your control issues,’ Phobos closed the door and listened to the steps as she slowly walked away. Satisfied when she as far away as possible he pushed the curtain down releasing the magic around the Guardian. What he saw the distraught girl huddling down on the floor. He wanted to gather her into arms and make the pain go away, but could not. It was a cruel reminder of their statuses. One heated kiss could not erase the things they both knew… they will never be free of their obligations, even if he wanted to kiss her senseless and teach her things she could barely imagine. It was not mean to be. Phobos hesitated before slowly touching her.  
‘Will? She is gone…’ he gently squeezed her shoulder, and she lifted head. Tears freely fallen down the pale cheeks. Witnessing how torn she was he felt something similar. The kiss was a mistake.   
‘Elyon is wrong, Kandrakar is not destroying your planet! We are helping people!’ Will stated in strangled voice. How can she believe those lies? Guardians never hurt innocent people, and yet Elyon wanted to kill them. It was a frightening thought, and Will did not know how she will have to fight a person who was a former friend.  
‘Is she? Will, you were thrusted into a war without knowing anything. Guardians are just tools for Kandrakar, to do their bidding. When was the last time you went there? When did they help with anything? Ask them questions, and you will not get answers.’ Phobos scoffed in disapproval. Why did she have to be so naive? Not seeing the reality before her and all the contradictions around.  
‘You lie!’ Will cried out not wanting to hear any more bitter words from his lips.  
‘I may spin the truth the in a way or altogether avoid it, but I do not lie, especially not to you.’ Phobos replied trying to convey that not everything is black and white in their world.  
‘I cannot do this… We cannot do this…’ Will whispered in breaking voice. She stood up steeling her spine. Phobos admired her for that raw strength and courage. He witnessed it time and time again in various circumstances, but as she was never afraid of him.   
‘I know…’ he agreed, closing his eyes with a silent sigh of rejection.   
They stood there looking at each other, lamenting on things what could have been or have already passed. The only showing vulnerability was glistening in her eyes and his tightly clenched fist drawing out blood with nails.   
‘Next time we meet, we will be on opposite sides...’ Will said in slightly trembling voice, but resolute in her decision. It felt like she was making the biggest mistake of her life.  
‘I know…. Yet, remember only I can kill you…’ he smiled sadly, and the mask was back on. The last thing she saw was Phobos standing alone. His back was straight and eyes cold, unreadable like the ice statue that was the man everybody feared.   
‘Goodbye…’ she murmured and slipped away, feeling like a part of her was left in that room.


	12. Chapter 11

Days passed and the girls had no further information about Elyon or her family. The case even got on the news, asking people for any relevant information, but it never came or were false leads. They could not investigate the house even when Cornelia insisted, as it was guarded by the police officers. Finally, after a week the police sealed the house leaving tapes and warnings for trespassers and departed. Will stayed silent the whole time avoiding direct discussions dealing with Elyon in fear she would break out crying. Thinking about her would lead to remembering him and Will swore to herself to forget everything, it was upsetting. The frequent dreams featuring the passionate kiss and what could follow after, made her restless and ashamed. Sometimes she could almost felt his taste lingering in her mouth, and it hurt. Will had to hold on the deliberate decision to end their connection, not to see him again. It was hard, because her mind said it was wrong, and her heart just wanted. Even her friends noticed something was bothering her, but never asked what, thinking she was still upset about their fight with Cedric. Will tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but inside she was torn, bearing the consequences of her choices.  
One late evening they gathered in the empty yard, dressed in dark colors typical for sneaking around. The house stood silent in the wilted grass and the wind slowly moved the tree branches making the place look eerie.   
‘It just me or are we going to break and enter, into a private property? My father will kill me if somebody catches us.’ Irma muttered huddling closer to the ground.  
‘In here.’ Cornelia motioned to the basement window which was not properly locked. With a little help from the magical vines to crack it, the girls crawled through the narrow opening into the dusty basement. It was divided like a laundry room and a storage, clearly not used recently as the dirty clothes were still into the baskets near washing machine. They silently went up taking out a few small flashlights to see better in the dark. Somehow, Will felt like she was intruding on Elyon’s privacy even if the house was empty and the girl would not care anyway after abandoning everything. It seemed like yesterday their gang laughed in the living room, doing homework. Cornelia probably slept over here more than once, and now they explored the house for any clues explaining where the family went. Every room seemed to the same as it was before, like the people living here just got up and left, until girls gathered in the kitchen. It was a mess. There were lots of broken glass shards, turned over table and chairs, candies scattered on the ground with their colorful papers flashing in the dark. Clearly somebody had a fight here.  
‘Is that blood?’ Hay Lin pointed on the kitchen counter’s corner and the floor, looking white as sheet. There were dark dried spots splotched on the surfaces as if something was thrown into the corner and slid on the ground.  
‘I’m gonna be sick…’ Cornelia leaned on the wall trying not to look at the blood stains.  
‘Hey, it’s okay… nobody is dead, police would have informed us and there is not much blood here’ Will soothed her friend offering her shoulder to lean on. Elyon would not have wanted to kill her parents. They were probably taken to Meridian and imprisoned in jail.   
‘Come on, we still have to examine Elyon room. Whatever happened here, Mister and Miss Brown were probably taken by force.’ Taranee frowned looking around, she wanted to go home. If her mother knew about this illegal activity it would not end well for her. Taranee would be grounded for life.  
‘Can I do it alone?’ Cornelia asked ‘if Elyon was found, she would not be happy we snooped in her room, and well I knew her longest so…’   
‘You are probably right…’ Will agreed, she did not want to search Elyon’s room already knowing where she was, confirming it again would only ruin her mood   
‘Come on girls. Ee should wait in the basement. Less likely someone would notice us through windows.’ she slowly went down the stairs illuminating the path with small light from the flashlight. They sat on the rickety chairs and some boxes, while silently waiting for Cornelia. Only Irma paced around in the low lighting of the room.   
‘Do you think Elyon is alright?’ Hay Lin asked tapping her foot, wanting to do something, but staying as silent as could.  
‘Maybe… we don’t know where they went. If she’s in the Meridian, I don’t think they kill her. She could be used as a bargaining chip against us…’ Taranee shrugged her shoulders thinking out loud.   
Will felt like something was stuck in her throat. It was far worse that girls imagined. Elyon will not come back, and if she does… she will be their enemy. Will unexpectedly flinched when Irma accidentally dropped some boxes near the wall and started to sneeze from the dust.   
‘Sorry…’ Irma whispered looking sheepish, but her attention was focused on something else. ‘Hey, Will, I think I found something?’ her flashlight beam lighted up the wall.  
It looked odd, new and almost shimmery, very different from the walls alongside. Will took a closer look and placed a palm on the rough plaster. It hummed under her touch. One section of the wall was made with magic.  
‘Guys, what are you doing?’ Cornelia curiously asked finding her friends patting the wall.  
‘I found something?’ Irma said knocking on the wall, listening if a hollow was behind it.   
‘I think there is something in the wall…’ Will explained to her friend.  
‘And? Are we destroying walls now?’ Cornelia rolled her eyes ‘…and if you asked me, I found nothing in Elyon room. Her diary is missing so yeah, nothing we did not know.’   
‘Hmmmm’ Will hummed lot really listening ‘the Heart of Kandrakar will help us…’   
‘I think you rely on that thing too much Will. What if it stops working?’ Cornelia huffed with expiration, seeing as they did not pay attention.  
‘Hey, stop with your tantrum the Heart always helped us!’ Irma crossed her arms in irritation. Cornelia always got on her nerves with her high and mighty attitude.   
‘I just don’t trust inanimate objects!’ she hissed, but stayed silent as Will took out the pendant under her sweater. It felt warm in her palms. The Heart steadily rose and hovered in the air illuminating the wall with white light. Before their eyes the fake plaster slowly melted away, leaving a portal swirling behind it.  
‘Well, that answers our question… What was behind the wall?’ Irma stated as the matter of fact.  
‘Should we go in?’ Taranee asked feeling dread in her stomach. She did not liked how dark and sinister the portal looked. Usually, it was a light vortex but this felt like a gloomy hole, consuming everything around with dark swirling mass.   
‘We don’t have a choice, maybe Elyon is in there!’ Cornelia yelled at her friends. They had little understanding how powerless she felt, not helping Elyon when needed. At the same time Cornelia felt resentful of her Guardian duties because it made her friendship with the girl very fragile.   
‘Wait, what if it’s an ambush?’ Hay Lin anxiously asked ‘this portal was left by whatever took Elyon’s parents, maybe we should reconsider?’ she nibbled her lip in worry, their recent history with the enemy was not good.  
‘I don’t care! Let’s transform! Will!’ Cornelia insisted pacing around wanting to move, to fight something and not feel so powerless when her friend was missing. Will shook her head looking at her friends. She understood how Cornelia felt, but possessing the secret knowledge, Will knew going over was terrible idea. The girls ignore her without a concrete proof even if she mentioned this. She will have to risk it. Not liking the plan, but having no choice Will extended her hand with a Heart of Kandrakar and said ‘Guardians unite!’  
A burst of lights exploded out of the pendant surrounding the girls in different color cocoons marking their elements. Cornelia was green, Irma blue, Hay Lin white, Taranee red and herself was pink. It made them into magical warriors of nature. Will exhaled when the warm and lovely rosy light enclosed her. When girls transformed to them, it seemed like a long process, but in reality a few seconds passed and they stood in The Guardian uniforms.   
‘Now we can go.’ Will nodded approvingly and slipped into the portal, the girls followed just behind her. For a moment there were only darkness and silence from every side. Suddenly noise came back, as they landed in Meridian. The portal behind them closed with a silent pop. They stood in a narrow street with tall murky wooden houses surrounding and crowding the small alley. The sky above them was dark with heavy rain clouds making the alleyway even more claustrophobic than it was.  
‘Uh, what a dreadful place!’ Irma wrinkled her nose smelling the garbage bins in the back.   
‘I don’t think it’s our only problem!’ Hay Lin gripped her hand looking around frantically. They were surrounded. Soldiers gathered down the street intentionally blocking the only exit out. In the middle of the squad stood Cedric elegantly dressed in a blue and green robe, with royal Meridian sign on it and golden shoulder armor. With long green tail and angry yellow eyes on the inhuman face his tall figure menacingly raised above soldiers. Will shuddered remembering how strong he was. She did not want to fight him, even if that was inevitable. It was right to think she should have stayed home.  
‘Welcome, Guardians, we have been waiting, making a perfect reception for you. If you were foolish enough to jump into the rabbit hole.’ Cedric smiled, showing his perfectly white razor sharp teeth ‘I was accompanied by friend to your warmest reception! Elyon, come to greet your dear friends!’ he gleefully chuckled, motioning behind him.  
‘Nice to see you, girls.’ The petite figure stepped out from behind Cedric taking down the hood. She stood tall and smiling proudly beside the monster adorned with a royal crest on the blue robe and glinting silver headpiece. Will witnessed the disbelief on girl’s faces. It made her life easier, this was the proof of betrayal, but at the same time she knew how they felt as her heart also throbbed with hurt.   
‘Elyon what have they done to you?’ Cornelia chocked back a sob, not believing what she saw. Elyon clearly was brainwashed by their enemy.  
‘We are going back home, you can’t stay here in this horrible place!’ she pleaded, trying to sway her friend.  
‘This horrible place? This is my home Cornelia, I thought maybe you above all else would understand my feelings… however, I don’t want to go anywhere. I belong here!’ the girl snapped in annoyance ‘it does not matter, you will not go anywhere else either…’ she smirked, nodding to Cedric.  
‘In that case, I have no choice but to obey your order Elyon.’ Cedric respectfully bowed his head clearly enjoying the spectacle.  
‘Guards! Capture Guardians!’ he bellowed out, his voice carried down the street. The soldiers charged, brandishing their weapons just as Will covered the group with a pink energy field when the arrows started to rain from above.   
‘Girls hold them off! Don’t let them come near!’ she shouted ducking a sword blow and releasing an energy blast into the crowd, taking out some people.   
‘I don’t like this!’ Cornelia yelled pressing her back to Irma. They worked together making a deep hole, pushing the soldiers in and filling it with water to make edges slippery with mud.   
‘I knew this was a bad idea from the start!’ Taranee complained throwing fire balls which exploded in a shower of sparks catching everything on flames. They made a way fighting through the crowd, but there were too many soldiers to confront.  
‘Girls retreat, before they call for reinforcements!’ Will frantically shouted making a run for it.   
‘Good idea!’ Hay Lin agreed following her and creating a wind to hold off the rest of the soldier squad. Suddenly the ground shook with heavy footsteps. The soldiers dispersed letting through a great big beast. It looked like a rhino, if they ever were green, had two big menacing horns on the nose and small beady yellow eyes. Its skin was tough, green and littered with scars. Will saw foam dribbling from its maw, as it charged after them, driven by the burly rider on its back.   
‘Taranee aim at its legs!’ she screamed, when the lumbering beast was almost on top of them, but it was too late. The fire balls hit the ground breaking out like a bomb, showering them with burning sparks. She heard the girls scream as it touched their skin. The beast roared from pain and trashed, then stood on its back legs. After a second in the air, it dropped back on the ground straight on top of Taranee. She did not move fast enough to get out of the path of the enraged animal. Using the unfortunate moment the rider jumped to the ground and gripped dazed fire Guardian by the hair, dragging her into the middle of the street. He pressed a dagger to her neck drawing blood.  
‘Guardians, stop! Or your friend will die!’ he triumphantly grinned showing ugly yellow teeth. For Will it seemed like time had stopped. They were cornered between a tall wall and squad of soldiers. She mostly felt girls gathering closely behind her back as she did not dare to lower eyes from Taranee’s frightened gaze.  
‘Frost, you do not have the right to kill a Guardian.’ Cedric slithered into the street. Elyon followed just behind him at sedated pace.   
‘She belongs to me.’ he stated without a doubt in his voice as if talking about a furniture not a human being.  
‘You always ruin my fun, general.’ Frost huffed and forcefully pushed Taranee into the Cedric’s hold, giving him a mocking bow.  
‘Now, Guardian of the Heart, we are at the stalemate. Who will it be? Your life or your friend?’ Cedric impatiently demanded, pushing Taranee on her knees.  
‘Will, don’t listen to him!’ she yelled struggling to get out of the monster’s hold.   
‘It’s not fair to give an advice.’ Elyon smirked wringing her fingers like a puppeteer, and suddenly Taranee slumped to the ground as if her strength were sapped. Only her eyes remained open and clear. ‘Will, if you her me, please go away! Run, and do as I say!’ she begged in her mind ‘I will be alright, please, just run…’  
Will staggered as the desperate feelings of Taranee slammed into her head. It was loud and confusing and instantly Will felt like she was drowning. The moment passed, and she had to decide what to do. It was one of the hardest things Will had to choose. Seeing no option to get her friend back, she took out the pendant sending blinding light to her enemies making them cover their eyes. Grabbing the hands of the girls, she asked the Heart to transfer them home and in a second they fell in a heap of limbs back on Earth.  
‘How could you?’ Irma forcibly pushed her away ‘how could you leave?’ she screamed lashing out.  
‘I had no choice, Taranee herself urged us to leave!’ Will spat out, she was just so angry from always being helpless   
‘Do you think I wanted this? Why blame me, maybe accuse Cornelia for dragging us in the first place!’ she fumed gritting her teeth. She always took the blame for everything just because of her position as a leader.  
‘Hey, I just wanted to find Elyon!’ Cornelia responded defensively frustrated that everything went wrong.  
‘Elyon! Elyon! With you it’s always about her! Did you not see, she betrayed us all? She helped taking Taranee away!’ Will shouted at her friend trying to convey that Elyon was on their enemy side.  
‘Maybe she’s brainwashed!’ Cornelia shouted in disbelieve, her friend would not betray her, Will should know it too.  
‘Girls stop it…’ Hay Lin muttered, her face was pale ‘it’s not good to fight among ourselves. Better question is, what we are going to do about missing Taranee? Everybody will notice if she does not come home?’ the girl lowered her head in worry.  
‘I think…’ Will started to say, but her eyes caught on blinking medallion in her palm ‘I think Heart of Kandrakar will assist us…’ she said stretching out her hand and closing her eyes, listening to the magic.  
‘Girls gather around and think only about Taranee, then push your powers into the Heart…’   
They stood in the circle concentrating on the spell. Will thought about her good friend, how she felt, her looks and actions. Slowly in the middle of the circle fog accumulated collecting into a human figure gaining colors and an image, absorbing their magic. Suddenly their transformation canceled out sucking their powers, and the circle broke as the girls fallen on the ground felling tired and sluggish. In the middle of the broken ring stood an identical copy of their friend.   
‘She resembles Taranee, but does not feel like her…’ Irma was the first to stand up and pat down her mud covered jeans.  
‘Hey, girls… why are you looking at me like that?’ the fake Taranee politely asked ‘do I have something on my face?’ she inspected her face on the glasses reflection.  
Will stood up and looked at their friend. Irma was right, she felt empty not like Taranee, just a copy made from memories. Will wanted to cry imagining what her friend was going through in the enemy hands.  
‘She’s just a copy made from our magic. We will have to renew it or she’ll disappear, if it takes some time to rescue Taranee.’ Will said hiding the faded medallion under the sweater. Feeling tired and emotionally drained too, she wanted nothing more but to sleep in her bed and forget what happened.   
‘We had another choice…’ Cornelia raised her perfectly maintained eyebrow ‘we could have fought…’  
‘Really? How?’ Irma shook her head ‘We will get Taranee back, no matter what!’   
‘Yeah, we don’t leave friends behind!’ Hay Lin heartily agreed leaning on Irma.  
‘Girls, Taranee herself asked us to leave, to get to safety… We will return and no matter what I will bring her back.’ Will promised with determination.   
Exiting their landing spot she looked at the sky, breathing the frigid air. It was early morning, and the sun was just peeking from the horizon, dyeing the sky in purples and reds. The days were getting colder, and the winter was around the corner. A stark contrast to humid and unpredictable Meridian weather, not that they felt much of it under the Guardians transformation. Dispersing in the streets to different directions the girls went home to wait for another day to start.


	13. Chapter 12

In the middle of great nothingness stood a temple of the congregation. A tall bright spiraling building, surrounded by white infinity and light clouds. There existed no time or space, there was no wind or rain, and no sound penetrated the vast silence. In the middle of a great oval hall with raised seated piers knelt a person shrouded in tranquility, the people gathered around him and sat on the stone stairs. There was a silent buzz in the air as different members talked to each other in hushed whispers, but as the hall filled in, there was a silence, and the Oracle was about to speak.  
‘Brothers and sisters, we gathered here, because I hear much complaining about the currently chosen Guardian’s, I will hear your statements and decide their relevance to the situation. Now who go first?’ man asked in calm voice. There was an angry hiss from a woman figure as she stood up. She had long white hair and sharp tipped ears, black nose with whiskers, looking quite like a cat.  
‘I will speak, Oracle.’ she bowed and received a nod from the serene man ‘You may speak, Luba, guardian of Aurameres.’   
‘Current Guardians are humans, and humans are weak creatures. Instead of fighting Phobos head on they are aiding people, I don’t say that’s a bad cause, but the veil is thin and they are just playing around more concerned with their human life than Guardian duties, they don’t deserve the powers we bestowed on them, she huffed and sat back crossing her arms after expressing her opinion. She was delighted to see a few of the other members nodding their heads, clearly agreeing with her. The Oracle smiled not giving any indication what of what he thinks ‘Dear friend, I heard your opinion, but they became magical creatures the moment their powers manifested, the girls may be human at heart, but the magic flowing in their veins made them something much more than a simple human’ he said in defense of the point made ‘I agree they can be quite a handful, but that does not mean they are wrong in helping the people of Meridian. The battles they took part in clearly demonstrate their dedication to our cause.’   
‘I disagree, Oracle! Guardians break too many rules! They are reckless and irresponsible! Look what they created with their powers, a copy of fire Guardian, who at the moment is lost to us!’ the man stood up his voice booming in the hall. He was tall and had long gray braided hair with dark tips. The most visible mark on him was three deep gouges made of scars going through his eye. He motioned to the white floor there an image of girls formed up as they produced a fake person.  
‘They should not play with their powers, this breaks magical laws! Also, Guardians should close the portals, not go through them! As you remember it was my idea to create a veil, to weaken Phobos power and imprison him on the planet he was born, we all witnessed how strong he is! The veil is thinning, somehow the magic is failing and there is too many holes in it, I am afraid he will escape and we will have chaos on our hands! I want him dead! Send Guardians to kill him! They should be capable enough and if they are not we just replace them!’ the man spoke, his words were bold and confident, prompting a silent conversation around him as the members were swayed by his cunning words.   
‘Endarno the Wise, Guardians are not killers!’ the Oracle remarked ‘we should not interference with the life or death matters, as the balance should remain, and time for death will come to everyone at their own time.’ he motioned his hand and the image disappeared leaving the floor as spotless as it were before.  
‘The guardians should have been called younger, I would have made them into the perfect weapons, now they are just unruly soldiers! I especially do not like the current Guardian of the Heart, she has too much power on her hands, and her mind is too weak for it. That human is incompetent and she could infect the other Guardians, I think we should replace her, as the silly girl almost lost the Heart to the enemy!’ the man was relentless in his argument against the girls. His eyes were cold as he spoke the words of contempt ‘Let me discipline them!’   
‘You are too quick to judge, Endarno, the girls are strong in their friendship, if we remove one of them now, I don’t think other will be happy about it. Let’s wait. Guardians are youthful, they will age and with age comes knowledge, they did not do any terrible mistakes to deserve punishment. Anyone else has something to say?’ the Oracle asked radiating calmness all around. The people remained silent, even with raised arguments they trusted Oracle’s wisdom and knowledge, some members had frowns on their face, but no one spoke. The Oracle nodded his head ‘Well, if this is everything, my decision remains the same, Guardians stay and fight in their own mind, we will not intervene at the moment. Meeting adjourned!’ he dismissed the council. People stood and gradually left the room in small groups, actively talking with hushed voices, not wanting to disturb the serene silence in the hall. Soon the room was empty, just the two figures remained, one still kneeling on the ground and the other standing behind his back. The Oracle silently sighed, he looked exhausted and worn out.  
‘Tibor, my dear friend, I don’t know how long I will hold him off Endarno is gaining more followers, he is using Guardians as his playthings…’ he silently said to the old man with great white beard ‘…darkness is stirring, I feel it in my bones, and in the deep roots of the temple… something is changing, be it good or bad I don’t know… I merely hope the Guardians will remain strong as the storm is coming… it’s obscuring my vision. I do not see clearly what is happening on the Metamoor and Guardian of the Hearts is almost invisible to my sight… I think she is unconsciously using magic, concealing from the enemy sight, myself included.’ Oracle said looking worried and tired as the other man helped him to stand up ‘Will, will need all the strength she can get, especially now when the fight is getting serious…’ he motioned his hand and on the floor image blurry gathered depicting sleeping red head woman then changing into the olive skinned Guardian lying unconscious on her side. The Oracle said nothing more just walked deep into the temple as the image slowly melted away…  
Taranee groaned slowly coming back to reality, her head hurt and mouth was dry as sand, as if she was sleeping longer than necessary, and her body refused to move on her command. Blinking slowly she looked around, but everything looked blurry and she closed eyes again slowly shaking her head. When the view come clear, she stifled a gasp recalling what had happened, she was captured. Her jail was a big impenetrable clear bubble, it floated around deep chasm filled with dark muddy water and above her was a dome of jagged black rocks. There was nothing that could help her escape just dark rock walls with columns carved into the sides, water, and a narrow platform protruding from the cliff. Deeper down there was some barely seen stairs, that was the only exit out. She felt small chill seeping down into her bones, usually the weather was not a problem especially in her Guardian form as the fire ran in her blood, but now it seemed her magic was depleted and it made her tired. There was nothing else to do just wait, so she created a small floating ball of her power to keep her warm and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the depths bellow, there was no telling how deep the water was. She did not know how much time had passed as there was no natural light in the cavern, she must have drifted off, because her nap was interrupted by the light steps echoing on the walls. Soon Elyon stepped out on the parapet.  
‘Good morning, Tarnee, did I wake you up?’ she asked in friendly tone ‘sorry for our lacking hospitality, but I cannot let you roam free.’  
‘Go to hell, Elyon, I thought you were our friend!’ Taranee scoffed at her theatricality, deep down hurting for a lost friend. It seemed there was no way back for her, and fire Guardian just could not forgive her jailer.  
‘What a good friend you were lying to me all the time… I thought you above all else would be sympathetic to my plight, being adopted yourself. Were you not furious at all the lies your parents told you? Now imagine double the trauma of finding yourself from another world entirely. You know I never asked, but did you ever knew that I was not from the Earth?’ she asked frowning.  
‘Does it matter now? Whatever lingering feelings of friendship I had about you were deleted the moment you betrayed us to that monster!’ she gritted her teeth not wanting to talk to her at all. Elyon motioned her hand and the bubble floated closer to her, she could see her friend better.  
‘Now, I came here with a purpose’ she smirked at her ‘I know you expect rest of the Guardians to save you, but I have bad news. They abandoned you!’ Elyon laughed and motioned at the murky waters bellow her, slowly the water became still as a mirror and images formed. It displayed her kissing her mother, attending school, talking to people, hugging Nigel. She knew it was not taken from her memory because she never wore that outfit before. The images changed and floated depicting her day like a kaleidoscope. She shook her head, whatever happened, Will and others did not betrayed her.   
‘Just look at that! They replaced you with a better copy! Marvelous isn’t it?’   
‘That is not truth!’ Taranee shouted closing her eyes, she could not be so easily replaced, but the images continued to play before her eyes.  
‘That is reality Taranee, believe it or not I am always right. Now, I did not want to do this, but you are too stubborn for your own good.’ she gathered her magic and surrounded the bubble with light bolts. Taranee looked scared as the dangerous looking lightnings enveloped her from all sides, it silently crackled and sent minor charges through the prison, and she could almost feel the hairs on her body standing up from too much charge in the air.   
‘I will leave you with this, but there is a catch, every time you close your eyes the magic will strike at you sending electrical charge through the bubble, next time maybe you will be more cooperating’ Elyon said and went back to the tunnel she came from leaving Fire Guardian slumped in her bubble, she could almost see the understanding in her eyes, sleep deprivation was a nasty form of torture.  
‘Will, help me!’ Taranee screamed in her mind with all her might. Her desperate shout traveled far from her prison, transcending time and space, going beyond the Veil, and finding the intended target peacefully sleeping in her bed, then it clicked…  
Elyon went into the tunnel she saw Cedric waiting for her leaning on the wall downstairs, seeming quite bored. His human form was as impeccable as it was she first time seen him, no hair was out of place, no dust was on his robes. Steely gray eyes followed her decent down as he stood straighter waiting for her.  
‘How’s our prisoner?’ he asked joined on her walk back down to the castle.  
‘Weaker, but resistant, your enchanted prison is doing its job’ she nodded to the man pondering how she will break her ex-friend.  
‘That bubble is produced from her own magic, don’t irritate her too much, fire is unpredictable when angered’ Cedric advised her, opening the door and letting her through. The men here were more courteous than on the Earth, she always marveled at the difference it could make, sometimes it felt like she was in a book, like some heroine on the grimly fairytale.  
‘Taranee is weak, if I’ll play it right I may brainwash her into our side. That would make my brother proud.’ She sighed thinking about her brother, he was elusive with her, but she could not complain, brother had a country to govern.  
‘I am certain, he is proud of you either way, Prince Phobos looked for you for a very long time.’ Cedric said trying to reassure his charge, playing babysitter was not in his job description, but this was a member of the royal family so he gritted his teeth and did was necessary. With time he kind of started to like the girl, she was easily molded and possesed a drive to learn. He with a scholar heart enjoyed having such eager pupil, and Phobos trusting his with such task was an honor.   
‘Did you tell, your brother about our little guest in the dungeons?’ he inquired, already thinking that the prince probably would not like Elyon going out on her own, and thinking how to lessen his anger. Why he had to have such difficult character was beyond his understanding, but navigating Phobos moods was an art everybody had to learn on the spot.   
‘Not yet, I have wanted it to be a surprise’ young woman shrugged ‘first I need to get her on our side…’  
‘Elyon, that’s dangerous if you will not inform him, I will. The Guardians will not abandon her friend. We will need to take precautions.’ Cedric frowned clearly not wanting to take on that task.  
‘Fine, be a mood killer, I will tell him, but give me more time, I still want to play’ she giggled just imagining the rest of the girls faces when they come.  
‘I give you three days, never knew you could be sadistic, Elyon.’ Cedric leveled his eyes. It was not like the prince did not known about their brief excursion with the soldiers. ‘Do not disappoint me.’ he nodded to the woman in farewell leaving her on the corridor leading to her room, departing to do his other tasks. Elyon stood there motionless for a moment, looking at his back and his silky golden hair swaying with every step, she blushed imagining what it would feel like to dip her hand into those strands. Swallowing her sudden dry throat she went to her room, devising plans how to get revenge on her ex-friends.


	14. Chapter 13

Deep in the silent night a figure gasped and sat up in the bed. Will could have sworn she heard Taranee screaming, but maybe that was a nightmare, her sleep was restless. Two days they ago they lost Taranee and she could only imagine what they could be doing to her, she hoped her friend was strong enough to hold on. Will frowned cupping her head, it felt fuzzy as if something was squeezing it, but soon peculiar feeling passed and she shook her head. Getting out of bed Will went to the bathroom for a cup of water, wondering what to do, as sleep just eluded her. Yesterday, she met with the girls, and they discussed, argued and made plans how to rescue their friend, but without knowing where she was, it was quite futile, it was possible that Cedric was just waiting for them to make a move. They drained their magic again, to maintain the copy of the girl, and it took its toll on them, made them tired, but that was the cost of their anonymity, they could not make everybody crazy about another missing girl. Will could not be around the copy without feeling guilty, it was hers decision to flee, so she avoided it as much as she could. Now sitting in the dark, she hugged her knees and wondered why her life was so complicated and how many mistakes she made. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tried deleting the image of Phobos from her head, but it was hard, was it so wrong to feel alive after everything he did, he was a mystery she wanted to solve. On the other hand if he was responsible for Taranee’s capture maybe she could muster the old feeling of hate for him, but somehow her heart refused to listen to reason. As the sun started to rise dying her room in red, yellow and orange, Will got up, her eyes were bloodshot from another sleepless night. Going through motions, she took a shower, dressed up, made her bed, and cooked small breakfast with strong coffee, it was the only thing keeping her awake. The morning was slow going, the school just endlessly exhausted her, Will knew she needed to keep her grades up, but somehow it felt meaningless in the grand scheme of things. How naive and innocent everybody around her seemed, or maybe she was just too jaded to care about gossip, fashion, boyfriends and other things girls around her age wanted. She did not know how her friends coped with their dual identities, was she the only one who could not manage to differentiate. Her head hurt, all morning the pounding in her skull made concentration hard, she heard a constant buzzing in her ears as if someone turned on broken radio. Louder, quieter, louder, she could not make out the clear sound, but it did not stop, drowning out the school noise. Will groaned as she sat in her desk, if only she could sleep. The lesion started and everything around her blurred, maybe was getting sick, she placed her head on the hands closing her eyes, but it merely made the pain worse.  
‘Miss Vandom!’ Will Vandom!’ she heard familiar voice calling her ‘Are you sleeping in my class?’  
She opened eyes feeling a bit disoriented and saw disappointed look on Miss Rudolph face, there was giggling and laughing in the back of the class.   
‘Sorry, Miss Rudolph’ Will shrank into herself feeling the hot blood rushing to her cheeks, it was embarrassing ‘it won’t happen again…’  
‘I hope not, stay after class.’ teacher said and went back to whiteboard continuing with the lesion. Will winded as she felt sharp stab in the back of the head, it seemed every time she closed her eyes pain became worse, she wanted to go to the nurse and get some painkillers or maybe go home, now again she had to talk to the teacher. Minutes felt like hours as the clock ticked, and whatever Miss Rudolph talked about just went above her head as she gritted her teeth and endured a headache. When the bell finally sounded Will stood up, her vision had black spots, and slowly moving not wanting to trip, she went to the teacher’s desk.  
‘Will, I am disappointed in you, is my lesions that boring that you have to sleep through it?’ Miss Rudolph asked taking off her glasses.  
‘I am sorry, it was an accident, won’t happen again… I’m not feeling good...’ she muttered looking at the grainy wood table, avoiding teacher’s gaze.  
‘I see, well your grades improved a bit, but I cannot ignore that you struggle with the material I gave you again and again.’ Rudolph said cleaning her glasses, she reached to the stick notes and quickly scribbled something. ‘Here, come to my place, when you have time, I’ll give you private lesions. You are intelligent girl, and I would hate if your math grade would downgrade your whole semester’ she gave her a slip of paper. ‘Now dear, are you alright? You look quite pale…’   
Will accepted the note and secured it inside her notebook, with the sudden movement her world tilted and for a second blackened out, she gripped a table to maintain balance.  
‘I don’t feel so good…’ Will muttered her mouth suddenly went dry. Miss Rudolph stood up, got around the desk and put a hand on her forehead.   
‘I think you have a slight fever, come let me take you to the nurse’ she clasped her elbow helping to walk and took her to the nurse. The nurse office was small, it had two beds, lots of shelves with numerous boxes, a small fridge and table with a few chairs. It was painted cheery yellowish color and displayed a lot of educational posters on the walls. Sitting on the bed covered with water resistant bed sheet, which made crackling sounds when moved, Will felt tired. The nurse checked her blood pressure, temperature, vision, everything was normal.   
‘Well miss Vandom, you definitely do not have a cold, but I’ll ask a few questions, before I can give you some medicine.’ she said writing in her student medical card. ‘Had any stress lately?’  
‘I guess…’ Will shrugged, but she could not tell that more than a few times a month she’s was running on pure adrenaline fighting the monsters in the other world, she did not want to go to loony bin.  
‘How are you sleeping? Nurse continued making a few points on a paper.  
‘I don’t know, normal, but had a few sleepless nights.’ She has nightmares and with all recent events, her head was constantly filled with thought about Phobos.  
‘I see. Any loss of appetite or eating habits?’  
‘No, not really.’The only thing that did not change was her love for good food. Eating was never problem for her and all the surplus calories she got, were for generating magical powers. Running around for life do wonders for ones figure.  
‘Describe the pain you are feeling?’   
‘It’s like pounding in my head, and sometimes it gets so sharp it seems its like something is stabbing in my skull and I hear buzzing in my ears and I got some dark spots in my vision when I got up too suddenly…’ she trailed of concentrating on the pattern on the floor as long as she did not close her eyes it seemed the pain got better.  
‘Well then, I think you suffer from a migraine, nothing I can do about that… I will give you some painkillers, but more than that you need peace and calm, so I will excuse you from remaining lesions if you go straight home’ the nurse said, acquiring a few tablets from the boxes and a bottle of water from the fridge. Will took it and drink it with relief, maybe it will make her feel better.  
‘Should I contact your guardian to take you home?’  
‘No, thank you, I’ll do it myself.’ Will said taking her backpack and going to the school lockers. Bundling herself in a scarf and jacket she quickly sent a message to mother and the girls explaining her sickness and reason for going home. The cold crisp air outside felt good, she took a deep breath and enjoyed the vibrant sky with a few white clouds, whatever the nurse gave her helped a bit, dulling the pain in her head. Will wondered why she was sick, after they gained their powers she never even caught the cold, physical injuries aside she had perfect health as did the other girls, the magic simply did not let them to get ill.   
The apartment was empty when she got in, besides the silent whispering of the electrical appliances nobody was home. It was not unexpected as her mother was at work and she come back before the school ended. She felt tired and drained, changing her clothes into the green soft cotton pants and simple white t-shirt she found the warmest blanked and crawled into bed.   
She did not knew how long she was sleeping, her dreams was filled with fear and nightmares. Phobos stabbing her and watching as she bleeds out with impassive eyes, Cedric violating her body and taking her magic away, then Elyon smirking and laughing, Taranee encased in crystal bubble… Phobos, Cedric, Elyon… the faces blurred…Taranee is begging, shouting, crying, screaming… Will woke up clutching her chest, the Heart of Kandrakar burned, wailing screams echoed in her ears and white-hot pain in her skull just made her scream. Somebody was shaking her, disoriented she just trashed on the bed not knowing what was happening.  
‘Will! Wilhelmina! Wake up!’  
She opened eyes seeing her mothers worried face ‘Mommy?’   
‘Oh thank god! You had a nightmare, and you running a slight fever’ there was a cold towel on her head, but the burning did not stop, nor did the voices. Her eyes widened as she realized whose voice she was overhearing, Taranee was begging for the pain to stop.  
‘I’m gonna be sick…’ Will stumbled out from her bed almost falling on her face as the blanked wrapped around her legs. Clutching her stomach, she reached the toilet and vomited the measly things she had for lunch, her body was convulsing as she had nothing to give, but nausea did not end even when she laid her head on the cold bathroom tiles. Her mother supported her as she tried to get up, and offered a glass of water. Rinsing her mouth of the nasty aftertaste Will groaned as another glass was placed for her to drink. Everything hurt, it felt like her body was burning from inside and the Heart of Kandrakar was pulsing in her chest with her every heartbeat. They made a steady walk from the bathroom as she leaned on her mom reaching her room, and slumped on the bed as if her strings were cut off. Swallowing the offered medicine Will waited for her mother to go back to sleep, before she rolled onto the small ball covering her ears as if that would silence the things she heard from the other side. She did not know, how or when that happened, but she heard and apparently felt what they were doing to Taranee, maybe because she was a telepathic or maybe they were connected, she needed help, magical help. Founding her phone, she sent messages to girls asking for help, hoping that in the morning everything would end. Morning came slowly, as the continued assault on her mind did not let her rest. Will gritted her teeth, biting back the screams until she could taste the copper in her mouth. She could hear her mother puttering in the kitchen, when she came checking on her she feigned sleep, maybe because she looked like a mess, nobody tried to rouse her up, so she definitely skipped school today. When her mother left putting the medicine on her night table Will sighed in relief, she did not had to pretend anymore. The damn broke as she messily cried hugging her knees. Oh god it hurt, everything hurt, it that continues she will probably go mad, or maybe Taranee would break first. An hour passed, maybe two, there was light knocking on the door, but she did not have the strength to answer it.   
‘Will, hey Will!’ muffled voice of Cornelia was heard ‘open the door, I skipped the school, I don't want to be found by your neighbors.’   
She groaned and stood up, slowly leaning on the wall Will went to open the door. When the lock clicked, she just slumped on the floor.  
‘Will? Are you alright?’ the crisp smell of cold and sweet scent of Cornelia’s perfume invaded her nose. ‘Irma and Hay Lin will be here soon, and you look like shit… Come on let me help you’ the blonde girl hugged her helping to stand up and aided her to the couch. Will closed her eyes as the world spun around her. She heard doors opening and closing, whistle of the kettle, but everything else was hard to understand with her muddled brain.   
‘Here drink it.’ there was a steaming cup of tea in front of her nose and worried eyes of a friend.   
‘Thanks…’ she muttered, but her hands shook as the taken the cup, so she put in on the table in fear it will drop.   
‘Will, you in here?’ Hay Lin shouted from the corridor ‘the door was unlocked! Were are coming in!’  
There was more sounds, boots hitting the floor, jackets hanged on the rack, but she just wanted to sleep.  
‘Will, oh Will, what is happening?’ cold hands on her brow felt heavenly, opening her eyes she saw girls gathered around the sofa.  
‘It’s Taranee…’ her mouth was dry as she uttered those words ‘they are torturing her… I can feel everything… it’s in my head… I need help.’ tears gathered in her eyes as the new wave of pain hit her body.  
‘Oh, God!’ horrified and pale faces of girls stared down at her.   
‘I’m sorry… its my fault.’ Will apologized hiding her face she was shameful of her actions. She should have helped Taranee. They should have been fighting and she chosen to run away.’  
‘We will fix this!’ Hay Lin’s voice was determined ‘Cornelia can heal you? Right?’ she asked her friend.  
‘I can try… but I don't know anything about this…’ the girl’s answer was uncertain, but she knelt on the floor positioning her hands on the body. Cornelia’s eyes narrowed in concentration as her hands glowed green. Will felt the magic swirling, but everything around her just dulled, but nothing changed. She shook her head in denial there was no reprisal ‘We have to save Taranee. It’s the only choice...’   
‘How? They will be expecting us, and without Taranee and you I don't think it’s possible?’ Irma told the harsh truth ‘I don't think you are in any position to fight.’  
‘Maybe we do not have to fight?’ Hay Lin suggested ‘we could infiltrate the palace?’  
‘Yeah, maybe, but do you know where Taranee is?’ Irma asked sarcastically. It felt like the choice without any success of winning.  
‘We should go to Caleb. They have doctors and know more about magic, the best case scenario maybe he will even support us’ Cornelia said considering the possibilities.  
‘He will if you will direct those beautiful blue eyes in his direction.’ Irma snorted.  
‘Stop it, now its not the time…’ Cornelia ignored the dis. ‘Will, can you transform us and transfer us to Meridian?’  
‘I can try, but I don't have the strength for my own transformation…’ Will sighed and then silently said ‘Earth, Water, Air, unite.’ she slumped back on the pillows as the light show began. Clutching the Heart of Kandrakar under her t-shirt Will mustered the strength and held her hand up the girls answered her call placing their hands together. She thought about the rebel base, and the Heart of Kandrakar blinked just as her vision tunneled and went dark…


	15. Chapter 14

They landed in a heap on the outskirts of the small village with wooden homes and a tent field. There were people bustling around, doing everyday work, like hanging laundry on the rope or bringing water in the buckets. There were animals in the yards, the sheep, few cows and pigs, even chickens running around. To their eyes it always seemed like the village of medieval times, nothing they could have seen on Earth, unless it was in books, but what they lacked in technology they filled with magic. Even modest living people had running water inside their homes gathered from rain or rivers and distributed by pipes. Electricity was replaced with magic such simple things as lights, food storing and everyday living were ingrained with enchantments running in this world. Meridian was similar to Earth and yet so different, every time coming there was like witnessing things from the fairy tale.  
Cornelia was the first to stand up, patting down the dirt from the road. Hay Lin merely grinned at her and stretched on the ground as Irma tried to entangle herself from Will’s body.  
‘Will, get up, you are heavy!’ she pushed her friend away, but Will didn’t answered her head lolled around.  
‘Will?’ Come on, don't do this?’ Hay Lin shook her friend’s body, then checked her pulse ‘she fainted…’  
‘Great, just what we needed... ‘Cornelia huffed trying to appear nonchalant, but she was worried too, because without Will everything could end in disaster ‘we should have thought about some blanked or something...’ she muttered to herself looking at her friend’s bared feet. Their troubles were solved when a figure approached their group.  
‘Guardians, I did not expect you’ the man greeted them with a nod. He was tall, had a mop of chestnut brown hair and blue eyes, his skin was littered with green stripes showing he was a half blood. The male was dressed in simple cargo pants with sturdy hunting boots, black shirt with a gray scarf and brown coat with wide open lapels.   
‘Caleb!’ Cornelia sighed in relief we need help!’ she motioned to the unconscious figure in Hay Lin hands ‘we really need help…’  
‘What? What happened? Were you fighting?’ he took off his coat and knelt on the ground covering the fallen Guardian. Then he gently lifted her body hiding Will’s vivid red hair in the lapels of the coat ‘Come on, let’s find a more private place to talk.’ Caleb said to the girls as he turned his head eyeing the people who just started to notice them. They made way through the back gardens of the village voiding the curious gazes of people, even if a village sympathized with rebels there was always a possibility of betrayal. They reached plain wooden house with the high rooftop by the outskirts and came inside. There was men gathered in the kitchen, many of them greeted Caleb and them with friendly faces. Caleb grunted in response and made way to an empty bedroom with placing unresponsive Will on the feather blanket he took back his coat covering her with a blanket. Turning around to face Cornelia he frowned ‘So, what happened?’   
She sat on the edge on the bed brushing away her friends red hair from her face, examining her health.   
‘Caleb, first of all can you call for a doctor? Will, she has a slight fever?’  
‘I see, I’ll be right back’ he nodded and went out of the room.   
‘So what we are telling him?’ Cornelia asked her friends who were silently waiting around the room.  
‘The truth?’ Hay Lin shrugged ‘It’s not like we know much…’  
‘We look very good in his eyes if inform him how we lost Taranee.’ Irma said with obvious sarcasm.  
‘Do we have a choice? Without Will our powers are quite limited, we need his help’ Cornelia sighed and clasped Will hand trying to send healing magic inside her friends body ‘I cannot aid her, whatever happened we need experienced help…’ she gritted her teeth. She felt quite helpless, and now it was up to her to make choices as the oldest of the Guardian, since Will was incapacitated. There was slight commotion behind the doors and Caleb entered followed by hunched Meridian woman dressed in blue clothes. She was old and her green face was covered with wrinkles. Her snow-white hair were rolled up in the bundle on her head, in her hands she carried a basket filled with pouches and bottles.  
‘This is Alma. Our village healer’ Caleb introduced the elderly lady ‘you usually do not see her around as she is the head of our hospital, but she observes much and possess a lot of knowledge…’ he scratched his chin.  
‘Boy, if you live as long as I am maybe you will learn something too’ woman chastised him, her voice was pleasant as if not touched with age ‘yes, Guardians, not the first time I meet your kind...’ she looked at each girl with keen brown eyes ‘Air, always with head stuck in the clouds, girl sometimes things on the ground are more interesting… Water, never stopping rushing through life not thinking about others and Earth steady and grounded, but with too much pride in her blood, you could be a good healer if you learned the craft and a bit humility, you missing fire the passion burning brightly inside, but too quick to anger and stubborn to the core… and then we have Her…’   
‘Hey!’ Irma started to say, but was hushed by Hay Lin as she shook her head listening to the old woman, it felt like she had knowledge beyond her years, and Hay Ling always respected the elders.  
‘I am not insulting you, Guardians, just observing’ woman silently laughed ‘forgive the old lady, for her ramblings’ she put her basket on the table and uncovered the ill Guardian on the bed, the girls gathered around as she began the inspection of their friend. Her hands glowed softly with blue color as the held them above Will’s body.  
‘So much confusion and division in this one, and strength…’ she closed her eyes concentrating moving her hands in slow motion starting from the legs, up to the head. When she reached the head her hands glowed white on each side of the temple then above else old woman snorted ‘Oh my…’ she opened her eyes and looked at Will up and down, her lips thinned with seriousness, but in her eyes mirth danced. She cleared her throat ‘Well then, there is nothing I can do for her except basic ailment from the fever and pain, there is magic at work here. Your Guardian is connected to another being in emphatic and telepathic link, she is taking the pain, fear and every emotion from it, but her mind cannot deal with all of that. I cannot brutally cut off their link as the backlash would probably kill both of them. There just a few beings in the universe who can perform such delicate work, but you would not like either of them... on the other hand if the one who established the link takes it back, everything goes back to the way it was’ Alma explained to the Guardians. She saw fear in their eyes as if they encountered impossible mission. The old woman rummaged through her basket taking out few bottles and pouches, spreading the pleasant smell of herbs. She used spare glass combining the things she acquired and poured the mixture down Will’s throat gently massaging her neck until she swallowed. ‘I have to take a few things from my house for medicine, but I will be back soon, take care of your friend until then’ she bowed and left the room. Breathing the fresh air outside the old woman walked down the cobblestone road, as the house disappeared from the view she bent over and started giggling into the full-blown laugh. The things she glimpsed from that young Guardian’s mind, Phobos will not know what hit him. She still remembered the little boy in the royal infirmary with scrapped knees, maybe things will change as love can do miracles. She hoped so, and prayed that world would not be too cruel. Wiping away the escaped tear, she went home to bring necessary herbs, wondering if she would even need them.  
When the old woman left girls slumped into each other as Caleb paced around the room. ‘We have to go to Kandrakar, they should help.’ Hay Lin suggested.  
‘Without Will we could not travel freely, even if we find the way there, it may be too late’ Irma cried out. If they lose both Will and Taranee at the same time everything will be over for them. The last few months was just one disaster after another, and she was getting tired of losing.  
‘We have to try! The Heart of Kandrakar should help us, if one of us takes it’ she looked determined, going closer to the bed she bent down and took the pendant out of Will’s t-shirt. As she tried to withdraw it, it flared angry red light ‘Ouch, it burned me!’ Cornelia shouted looking at the slightly raised pink skin on her palm, it rapidly disappeared as her healing powers kicked in.   
‘Let me try.’ Irma pushed her away and quickly grabbed the pendant. ‘Damn!’ she shook her hand as she too was burned.  
‘I guess that leaves me…’ Hay Lin muttered and carefully touched the object it flared again and angry buzzing filled their heads ‘nop, not working’ she tilted her head looking as the Heart of Kandrakar gently settled on Wills chest ‘I guess we are not going to see the Oracle…’  
‘Thank, you captain obvious, why it’s not working?’ Cornelia huffed crossing her arm, angrily gazing at the medallion ‘as Will is incapacitated we should be able to use it! It’s not fair that only Will gets these powers!’ she started pacing, but Caleb gripped her by the elbow and stopped in the middle room. ‘Now, would somebody tell me what the hell happened?’ he asked in irritation. Cornelia slumped her shoulders ‘Okay, but can we get a cup of tea or something first…’   
They went to the kitchen sat down and recounted what happened in recent month. They argued, shouted, and then planned how to rescue Taranee as that was the only choice left before them. They could not let friends die. The plan they came up with was to create disturbance in the city for the girls to slip in the castle as the most dangerous prisoners were always transported to the dungeons instead of the prison on the hill, as per Caleb information. They gathered men and left dressed in dark brown cloaks, leaving the room Will was in, with one guard with strict orders that no people except the healer could go in. As if sensing that the coast was clear, and nobody would disturb it, the Heart of Kandrakar hovered up, flashed in pink and Will disappeared from the room.   
Phobos paced in his study with a book in hands trying to read, but with a groan book went sailing through the room hitting the wall and dropping with a loud thud. He felt restless and angry at himself. He should not have kissed her, that minor decision cost him his peace. Remembering her taste, the feeling of her in his arms, the quickly pounding heart and those inexperienced caresses through his hair, it drove him mad. Everything happened so fast, it mas mistake on his part and hers, they knew that, accepted it, but the eyes of her spoke volumes to him. He never wanted to feel like this, never imagined he would, after everything what happened, he did not deserve such feelings. For all one knows maybe this was a punishment, to yearn for a girl he could never have.   
Suddenly the defensive magic in the garden flared, he had many his own spells on the private spaces, from the offensive to guarding, and everything was woven into tightly knit blanked on the whole castle. Next he was reached by the whispering ‘Guardian…. Guardian came… so weak…help!’ roses talked in many voices each one unique, but in altogether just a whispers. He quickly went out wondering why she was here. The girl promised they would not meet again. Worry clenched in his heart, something was not right. Using his private entry into the garden, he avoided the servants and quickly went where the roses guided. The first thing he saw was a dome of roses around the prone form of the girl. They swayed around her body in a protective circle, tugging on her clothes and caressing the skin, as if they liked her, or maybe his own hidden feelings manifested in the flowers. He waved his hand and the roses slowly withdrawn giving him just enough space to kneel beside her. She was dressed in simple clothes barely enough to cover her from the weather. Her red hair stood out on her pale almost white skin with already blue lips from the cold. He took off his robe covering her in warm fabric, yet she didn’t even move. Frowning he gathered her into his arms and stood up lifting her up as if she barely weighted anything. Tucking her deeper into the robe for cover Phobos weighed his options. He needed to get her warm and examine what was wrong with her health. She would not have come here if there was any other place to go, or maybe the annoying piece of jewelry sent her, it would not be the first time that happened. He launched out a flare of his magic to check out the magic inside the palace. After all the castle was old and generations upon generations added spells into its walls creating a spider web of magic, mixing it with his own spells was the best decision he ever made. Phobos learned early on that with precise amount of magic he could connect to it checking what was happening in individual places of the castle. There was just a few people inside, so without a fear of being seen by the servants of guards he went inside carrying the precious cargo in his embrace.


	16. Chapter 15

Cornelia sat on the crate beside the carriage observing local people. They were busy loading things into carts preparing to go into the capital city disguised as the street merchants. She and other girls got crude sturdy clothes and capes with a cowl to hide their unique features and uniforms. Others too were dressed simply, but with leather armor underneath, placing their weapons into the double bottom secret holes under the carriages. Caleb was in the middle of the organized chaos, directing people, giving orders, quickly finishing tasks and taking other ones. She wanted to move to do something, but rebels required preparation and almost two frantic hours passed as they left Will with the old healer. Looking at how Hay Lin and Irma helped to move baskets and boxes joking around with men Cornelia frowned. Did they not understand the situation? If they lost Taranee, they would probably loose Will too. Her mouth dried, how Elyon could do this to her friends? Did that word mean anything to her, or their fond memories were just an illusion? Nevertheless she hoped deep in her heart that Elyon was not a potential enemy just misguided by them. Phobos was as cunning and charming, as he was ruthless and powerful, he could have achieved that. Cornelia felt tears gathering in the eyes, but did not allow them to fall. She could not, not now, not when everything hung on the knife edge. Putting the hood on and covering her anxious face from everyone she looked at the dirt under purple boots. She should be helping with preparations, but her hands shook trying to wrestle nerves away. Cornelia jumped as the calloused hand landed on her shoulder.

‘You okay?’ Caleb asked crouching down to look under the hood, his brilliant eyes were warm, green like the summer grass.

‘Yes, just nervous…’ her heart picked up a speed. She did not know if it was from the fright, nerves or the fact that he still gazed at her from under the lashes. Caleb inclined his head in understanding and gently pushed her to the edge of the crate sitting beside her. She could enjoy his pleasant warmth through the clothes as their sides practically touched. Caleb pulled back her hood, and Cornelia looked away, hunching her shoulders.

‘Hey, look at me, everything will be alright.’ he lightly nudged her shoulder.

‘If only it would be so simple. Everything we do recently ends badly and Will she was injured the most out of all of us, now Taranee too… and the mess with Elyon, it’s just hard for me to make necessary decisions then I know my friends lives hang in the balance…’ she grimly muttered not looking at him.

‘Elyon, who is she?’ Caleb curiously asked.

‘Oh, a friend back on Earth…’ Cornelia promptly answered covering up her mistake. Girls left out Elyon when telling him about what happened on Earth and Meridian. The rebels still knew nothing about Elyon being the missing heir, because Phobos still housed her in secret. Guardians mutually decided it was for the best, as they had no possible clue what Phobos was planning. Putting innocent lives at risk just because they believed the missing princess was their salvation seemed foolish.

‘I just want everything to end… waiting was never my forte,’ Cornelia offered him a faint smile.

‘Like I said we help you to cause diversion, my men are just itching for a bit of chaos in the capital. Everything else is in your hands when you reach the castle’ he took her hand interlocking their fingers. Caleb’s hand was wide, warm, she gently squeezed it and let go when a jovial man approached them.

‘Hey, Caleb, you want some pears?’ he said enthusiastically and sent flying green object in their direction. Caleb quickly caught the plump fruit out of the air before it spattered on the ground.

‘Good reflexes!’ man noted already walking away ‘we almost ready to go!’ he shouted in the afterthought.

‘Here, eat this. You will need strength.’ Caleb smiled at her putting pear in her palm.

‘I will check if everything is in order and then we move out’ he stood up and with a nod in her direction went to the gathered rebels. She flipped the pear in her palms then took a small bite. Sweet juices exploded in her mouth and she closed her eyes enjoying the delicious flavor. Swiftly she finished the offered treat and stood up. Gathering her courage Cornelia rejoined the girls. Soon the first cart in the line of five carriages moved out into the cobbled road, they climbed into the last cart and prepared for journey into the city.

Deep in the castle Phobos gently laid down vulnerable Guardian covered with a robe on the elegant couch. The green cloth dwarfed on her body and he wondered how she could look so petite when there was so much marvelous power tightly packed into that body. Maybe his perception as warped, Guardian was not small by standard definition merely lean with developed muscles and delicate curves gently rising with every visible breath. He brushed away stray hair from her forehead and frowned, she was running a fever. Phobos flinched then there was light knock on the door. Just for a moment he was distracted not detecting the arriving presence outside his private wing. Quickly throwing the robe on girls head he stood up, glancing over his shoulder, making sure Guardian was not visible from the possible opening. Composing his face into indifferent maybe slightly irritated look he swung open the study door.

‘My Lord?’ the chief butler’s eyes widened at the unexpected occurrence when he was just about to enter. The prince stood in the doorway casually leaning on the doorpost. He was dressed down to the green silk shirt with white linings and dress pants, his glossy hair hung in the messy braid.

‘Yes?’ Phobos raised an eyebrow at flummoxed servant. He just could see the affronted expression at his casual attire. The old butler was always a stickler to the rules how the ruler should carry itself.

‘A, yes… The cook is humbly asking where you will partake of your lunch, my Lord and is Miss Elyon will join you?’ the butler nervously glanced around carefully avoiding looking directly into prince’s eyes.

‘I am working, if I require lunch you will be informed. Where is Elyon by the way?’Phobos asked taping his chin.

‘This servant does not know, my Lord, haven’t seen her since the personal maid delivered her breakfast. If you excuse me, I have to inform the kitchen about your decision’ the butler bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

‘Inform everyone that I don’t want any disturbance and deliver me some refreshments, leave them outside.’ Phobos ordered.

‘Very well, my Lord’ servant bowed again and swiftly crossed the waiting room outside the study. Closing the door Phobos leaned on it for a moment releasing the nervous breath he unconsciously held in. Next he placed a palm on the polished wood and muttered few spells, doors flashed for a second, now nobody without his knowledge would disturb them. With a spark from his fingers firewood stacked in the fireplace brightly ignited, making the room instantly warmer. He approached woman on the plush sofa and uncovered the robe just up to the waist. Kneeling he placed one hand on her heart and other on the head. Closing his eyes Phobos focused his magic allowing it float from hands into her body, carefully examining her for the damage received. His palms glowed with warm green light as magic got absorbed then circled back into him. When he encountered unusual presence in her head Phobos frowned. There was unexpected and unintended magic covering her mind like fiery red vines connecting to the distance beyond. He could have followed the direct connection down to the source, but Guardian demanded more attention. Whoever played with a mind magic was sloppy and clearly did not known what damage it could cause. Phobos opened his eyes just as the Heart of Kandrakar slipped out of Will’s white t-shirt.

‘So, ancient scheming piece of jewelry… should I leave your Guardian to die?’ he mockingly asked, unexpectedly his heart clenched with the thought, yet he should not be easily manipulated. The pendant angrily buzzed flashing pink sparks.

‘You and I both know how delicate healing can be, I do not want to accidentally mind rape your charge,’ Phobos muttered shuddering with evident disgust. What people say about him being monster may be true, but he had morals and directly messing with the brain was not in his personal preferences. The Guardian would never forgive him for reading her mind, it would be worst kind violation of privacy. Yet there was not many choices to select from, letting girl slowly die in her sleep or helping. Even the thought of a Guardian life so easily put out just because someone messed up sounded terrible. Since when he couldn’t stomach thinking about eliminating her? Phobos told Will only he could kill her in warning, but now he did not want to, not anymore.

‘Okay I’ll do it, but you have to completely protect her mind' he said to the pendant. Heart of Kandrakar rattled around and disappeared inside Will’s chest. For a second her skin gained rosy shine as if the pink light came from inside. Phobos sighed and gently lifted her out of the couch on the carpet beside it. He knelt above her placing Will’s head on his knees. Closing eyes Phobos placed each palm on her temple and concentrated. Familiar magic gradually gathered in his arms illuminating her red hair and pasty skin. Another moment passed and Will stiffened then arched her back in a spasm, her mouth opened with a silent scream, but she did not wake up. His eyes glowed brilliant green instead of the usual icy blue color and magic concentrated around her head. Phobos continuously cut the vines out of her mind until the last one fallen, and he slumped in relief and exhaustion.

'Taranee!' Will yelled suddenly lifting from his knees with a raised hand as if desperately grasping something invisible. She collapsed again and groaned in pain. Her gaze was unfocused and hazy and Phobos was glad for that as he breathed heavily from excessive use of healing magic. He gently caressed Will forehead monitoring her condition. The girl was still feverish, but her natural healing ability should kick in without a problem the Heart of Kandrakar would make sure of that. Reluctantly he withdrew from their position and lifted her back on the couch covering her again. Sitting in the chair Phobos let out a silent grunt and momentarily clutched his head feeling drained. Glancing at the sleeping Guardian, he sighed maybe she will sleep long enough for him to get his bearings. Confronting her when tired was foolish and whatever happened seemed bad. Getting out of the study he brought back the refreshments left by the butler, it was fresh fruits, pastries and juice in the crystal clear pitcher. Feeling that the situation asked for something stronger than juice Phobos went to the hidden panel in one of the bookcases. A flick on the hidden button, and it opened up. There was an assortment of rare bottles, all in varying sizes and colors. He took out dark, almost black glass bottle marked with discolored yellow label. When opened heavy smell of sweet berries and alcohol filled the air. Taking clear elaborately carved glass he carefully poured the wine, the liquor was thick and red almost like a blood, then properly sealed the used bottle with magic. After taking a sip Phobos relaxed in waiting enjoying the moment of silence. Will would soon wake up and he had to look good when they talked again. Feeling a bit vain, he unbraided long hair allowing it fall like a silky curtain. Selecting the book on the table, he started to read, now there was nothing to do merely wait until she awakened.

The first thing Will felt was warmth and pleasant sweet smell. She cuddled deeper into it and sighed contentedly not wanting to get up. Her mind was fuzzy and body stiff as if sleeping for too long. Yet, for a moment her mind was at peace and everything felt good. Soon awareness trickled into her brain, and she started to notice the silent sound of flipped pages and cracking fire, then silky smooth fabric under her fingers. Will frowned thoughtfully, this was not home. There were no sounds of gossiping electronics or the cars outside the window, just silence and wind, yet somehow it felt safe. Maybe it was combination of things like gentle warmth, familiar residual magic in the air, her own exhaustion, there was no reason for apparent panic. Opening eyes Will looked around. At first her vision was fuzzy, but soon she saw a wooden carving in the ornate ceiling and bookcases in the room. There was green silk robe with mild lingering scent of roses covering her. It had such nice smell that she unconsciously lifted the fabric to her nose and took a deep breath. Registering what she’s done Will blushed, remembering to whom that particular scent belonged. Her foolish heart started to race when she finally understood, this was Phobos study and he was most likely in the room with her.

‘I see you are awake…’ there was sound of a chair scraping the floor, steps and then he appeared in her sight. Phobos was elegantly dressed in casual green shirt hugging his form like a glove with a few buttons undone and black dress pants with simple loaf shoes. The natural arrogance he excluded blended with the casual look made her mouth dry. He was sexy and knew it. The smirk on his lips was proof to that. She gazed at the exposed skin on his neck showcasing the red tattoo, dipping just enough to reveal a glimpse of the pale chest. Will shook her head. It was not a good time to think about these things, there were more pressing matters to clarify. But her heart refused to calm down, as if the pain she has endured since their previous meeting disappeared and Will could freely breathe again. Deep down she missed him, but was too frightened to recognize it.

‘What… I mean where, no… How? Why?’ her mind was in shambles. Will had so many questions with no answers, last thing she remembered were girls in her apartment, next going to Meridian and nothing.

‘Very articulate…’ Phobos chucked and motioned at the edge of the sofa ‘do you mind?’

‘Sorry what?’ Will looked at him in bewilderment.

‘You are still a bit disoriented. I asked, do you mind if I check your condition?’ He shook his head with a slight smile.

‘My condition?’ Will asked confused. She felt fine, well mostly okay, beside some stiffness in the body and funny feeling in the head. Phobos muttered something to silent for her to hear, then sat down on the edge nearly touching her side. He leaned over, and Will felt butterflies exploding in her stomach when his platinum hair fallen down the shoulder just close enough for her to touch. Her fingers itched with burning need.

‘Don’t look at me like that…’ he whispered fiercely and his eyes darkened dipping to her rosy lips ‘I have to make sure you are alright. The magic I performed on you was incredibly delicate, it could left some permanent damage’ Phobos frowned when Will looked adorably confused, he desperately hoped her mind was intact and Heart of Kandrakar protected her. It would be hard to forgive himself if he irrevocably damaged something. However, seeing her like this, comfortably nested on the soft surface, covered with his clothes, with red hair splayed in all directions and chocolate brown eyes tracking his movements with evident interest, Phobos felt distracted. The male part in him almost growled with hunger. She was not ready for it yet. Everything was too new, and their private meetings were uncommon and inconvenient. He could seduce easily, going by her lingering gaze. However, Phobos didn’t want just carnal satisfaction, there was also earnest desire to know her. Perhaps the old pendant was right, it was easy to be ensnared by the Guardian or maybe he was lonely. Whatever the reason there was no way back, not when he tasted the forbidden fruit.

‘What magic?’ Will asked breathlessly his proximity made thinking hard. Everything simply disappeared leaving just him and that tightly bound magic she could feel under his flawless skin, like the current underneath.

‘Will, what do you remember?’ Phobos suddenly retreated. Will was disappointed, but the question made her think.

‘I remember being sick and in pain… So much overwhelming pain… and then we went to Meridian… nothing more…’ Will concentrated recalling the memories. Suddenly her heart hurt and she gasped clutching the sore chest. There glowing inside her and then Heart of Kandrakar manifested in the palm. Images rushed into her brain as Will remembered everything the Heart protected. There was a whiplash from the sudden feelings and emotion she experienced. Scrambling out the couch she almost fallen when her legs tangled into the fabric. Firm hands caught her before the collapse. Will frantically struggled out of his hold wanting as much distance as possible between them. Her heart fluttered like wings of the bird between the ribs. Phobos looked so beautiful and confused by the sudden change. It hurt to look at him when she wanted nothing more just to dip her eager hands into that silky hair and caress it. However, if he was responsible for Taranee’s capture, she could not overlook it or forgive.

‘Taranee, what have you done with her?’ Will asked in tight voice. She saw a slight slip of hurt on his face before Phobos regained the indifferent mask.

‘Fire Guardian? I have not seen her for a long while, probably even before you landed in my garden for the first time…’ he proclaimed without much of a thought.

‘Liar! She is here, in this castle being tortured by your lackeys, and now you tell me you have no idea about it! Do not joke around!’ Will furiously shouted with tears gathering in her eyes.

‘What did you say?’ Phobos voice was controlled, but Will could feel the temperature in the room instantly dropping. He was not as unaffected as he portrayed.

‘There was an ambush concocted by Cedric and Elyon, we stumbled upon it in our stupidity. It was not as I could tell the other Guardians about Elyon being here with you! Anyway, your pet monster had taken Taranee before we escaped and then something bad happened… I endured everything they did to her in my mind!’ Will yelled angrily pacing before the window not looking at him, because her conviction might crumble.

Taking a quick glance Will stopped in her track. Phobos stood in the middle of the room head down with hair hiding the face, his palms were tightly clenched into the fists. She could see the veins bulging and blood dripping on the floor from the nail pierced skin with nails. Will already witnessed him like that. Phobos was angry, extremely angry, and he struggled to remain in control. Something she mentioned set it off. The air around him blurred, and the overwhelming pressure in the room doubled. Her limbs trembled and it was getting hard to breathe. God, just how much power one man could have? Hairs on her arms stood up, the surrounding were charged with so much concentrated power it crackled. Will could taste the magic in the air, like a burnt sugar on the tip on her tongue. Suddenly, there was loud crackling sound and the glass on the windows fractured. Will cried in alarm, this was getting out of control. At that precise moment Phobos eyes fixated on her and she gasped in surprise. His noble face was serene as if sculpted out of the marble, but the eyes were green, like the forest leaves in the summer, brightly glowing emerald jewels. He took measured steps enclosing her to the wall. Will had nowhere to hide. Felling hard wood under her back she gulped, because in front of her was Phobos as dangerous and unrestrained as he could get. Without her Guardian transformation Will felt powerless like cornered animal with the fearsome predator gazing upon it. She steeled her spine and looked up. Guardian’s never back down, and she was daring in her choice not to submit. Will believed Phobos would not hurt her, even in his heightened uncontrollable state.

‘Are you intimidating me?’ she cautiously asked with a steel in her voice, knowing it was not in her best interest to further provoke him.

‘No, just allow me to confirm something…’ he trailed, there was thud on the wall where his bloody palm struck the wood. Will could see the wood pulsing in the room showing different veins almost like a spider web. Phobos narrowed his glowing eyes and tilted head as if listening something only he could hear.

‘You are right, there is a Guardian in the dungeons…’ his voice was deep veiled with hidden knowledge ‘now tell to me… you showed up in my garden unconscious, with your life hanging on a thread, because Fire Guardian was tortured? She messed up the mind magic?’ Phobos inquired with persuasion looking straight into her eyes. It seemed she gazed at something ancient and dangerous, but wise beyond his years, lurking beneath the brilliant eyes.

‘I am unsure, but I think yes…’ Will answered in an anxious whisper, she felt shudders ran down her back. Phobos was still caging her close to his body and with so much active power dripping from him, it was setting of the alarms in her mind.

‘The mind magic was corrupted and sloppy. It connected both of you on the fundamental level forging a link of feelings, no wonder you felt her pain… You could have died, and I would have no idea… you could have died because of me…’ he silently whispered into her neck. Will felt him slightly trembling. She did not know why, from the strain he put his body under or the thought of her dying.

With everything said he genuinely had nothing to do with Taranee being captured. Relief and joy flowed, it felt so good to be wrong about him. Phobos was innocent in this, first time for everything. Feeling brave Will smiled and cupped his cheek, he blinked focusing on her. Following the same trail of thought her other hand immersed into the silky smooth strands of hair, gently scratching the base of his skull, like some noble jungle cat. Phobos slumped over with a small groan dropping the head on her shoulder and taking deep breaths. Will was thrilled he was vulnerable without the control and she wanted more. Wanted to know all the expressions he could make. However, the world had other plan. Just as Phobos pressed further into her body a deafening boom detonated outside and they were showered with glass shards from the cracked windows. She heard Phobos swear as he twisted them around sheltering her from most of the shattered glass. A trail of blood flowed down his cheek, yet his eyes remained green just not as vivid as before. He released her, and they looked at the chaos outside. There was explosion, and the raging fire were spreading in the city, Will could hear distant screams of the crowd. Phobos was calm and focused, clutching the wall in determined concentration.

‘Your friends are coming, they just entered my garden… I think they intend to rescue the fire Guardian’ he explained frowning ‘the explosion should have been a distraction, yet so much damage was done, so I guess the rebels decided to play…’

‘I should help them!’ Will shouted and made her way to the door, hissing as the glass cut into her bare feet.

‘Stop!’ Phobos caught her just before she could escape ‘Are you stupid? Think where you are! How will you explain this?’ he gripped her as Will struggled to get out ‘Will, listen to me! You cannot be discovered here, it will put everything in jeopardy!’ Phobos did not let go even when Will accepted to his reasoning.

‘I have to help my friends! It is my duty as a Guardian to help them fight! I cannot be seen as a weak leader! I don’t want to be useless!’ Will fumed and her emotions ran high, but Phobos was right. If she shows up now, her friends probably abandon her on the spot. Why she was always felt like stretched in two separate directions.

‘I have to do something… or I’ll go mad…please…’ she begged, clutching his silk shirt in her palms and searching his face for any consolation.

‘Okay’ he relented and sighed ‘come here…’ Phobos gently steered her through the glass to the damaged window unlatching it and letting the wind blow into the room. He embraced her from behind as she looked outside.

‘You have profound convictions. I admire that, but in one thing you are wrong, Will you are stronger than you imagine. I can feel your slumbering power. We merely need to find it...’ Phobos muttered into her ear, and she could feel him breathing pressed so close ‘let me help you…listen to my voice…’ Phobos interlocked their fingers joining their palms.

‘A fierce protector and a Guardian… the Heart may be your magic amplifier and conductor, but you have power deep inside… Close your eyes and listen to your heart. There are innocent lives dying in the fire what are you going to do?’ Phobos sinful voice whispered playing seduction with her mind.

‘The tension you feel in your body, in your blood… release it…open up and surrender…’ Will felt his magic caressing her skin and her own responded to its guidance. His other hand went to her stomach just above the hip finding one uncovered spot under her t-shirt and gently stroking rotating patterns with his thumb. She was burning, the Heart of Kandrakar hung heavy on her chest and with every heart thump it pulsed with radiant light. Will was going mad from the sensitive touches, his intoxicating smell, the delicious feeling of their pressed bodies, and his steady breath on her neck. She was so aware him and the fire he ignited.

‘Trust me…’ Phobos tenderly kissed her neck and Will vibrated, her body pulsed with magic begging to be released like sparks under the skin. This she felt when silencing the electronics in her house just on very different amplified scale.

‘Now transform…’ the sultry voice purred with satisfaction and Will felt lips caressing her thundering pulse point. With Phobos order light surrounded them and their magic mixed just as she transformed without any words. She felt so desired and seduced at the same time. If he asked she would surrender to him, to the sensual game he played, her innocence worked against her. Her body vibrated with so much magic around. She wondered how anyone could ignore that, it felt like a storm was brewing in the room. Phobos intentionally raised their joined hands through the window.

‘…and now let everything go…’ Phobos smiled, and the magic flowed naturally through their arms into the sky. Pink and green mixing into one stream separate, but still the same. Clouds immediately gathered, heavy and black and the atmosphere darkened. Frequent lightning struck with booming thunder and Will giggled with exhilaration as the storm started to rage. In her surprise the rain started to fall with such heavy downpour it seemed the world was painted gray. She could see the distant fire gradually going down leaving the blackened wooden ruins behind. Will turned around and jumped into his waiting arms laughing out loud already starting to feel exhausted as the magic drained and transformation canceled. They stumbled awkwardly to the ground both breathing heavily.

‘Thank you…’ Will shyly whispered hiding her head in his neck. Now when her body dropped from the high she was embarrassed by their recent behavior even if that felt so good. Phobos groaned under her and lifted them up. Brushing the glass shards out of her hair, he said

‘You have to leave, before it’s too late. I will take care of everything…’ he caressed her cheek and leaned in barely grazing her lips. It was such innocent peck after the seduction he put her through that Will wanted to giggle, but contained it.

‘Will, you said we will not meet again, but I changed my mind… we will… especially after this… now go, please…’ he said looking a bit pale and worse for wear yet serious.

‘Okay, maybe I will see you later…’ she bitten her lip not knowing what else to say. Deciding it was a right idea to leave Will requested the Heart of Kandrakar ‘take me back where I came from!’

She looked at him till the last second until instantly disappearing. When she vanished Phobos groaned and clutched the windowsill as he slowly slid down on the ground. Breathing heavily he closed eyes, there was too much magic spent today in his rashness. It was unacceptable to lose control like that, and he will have to pay for it, but the thought of his sister responsible for the treason was the last drop. Everything hurt, yet there was no rest for the wicked. Phobos had disobedient family members to take care off. He needed his strength back even if that was a minute of relaxation sprawled on the ground in undignified manner. He clenched his trembling fingers remembering Will’s body responding to his touch like a glorious flower. Phobos thumped his head on the carpet, now was not the time for such thoughts, but the image remained deeply buried in his mind. He desired her, badly, it could only lead to his downfall.


	17. Chapter 16

There was a burning fire reflected in Hay Lin’s wide dark eyes as she stood terrified on the spot when the bomb exploded. Panic and violent chaos raged around her. Desperate people running in the narrow streets, screaming, shouting and frightened children crying. Some soldiers went past carrying buckets of water not paying attention to the people, knocking them on the ground where the crowd trampled. ‘Did we condone this?’ she though horrified at the damage the reckless fire was causing. There was tugging on her cape, and Irma pulled her into less filed path going to the castle. Cornelia stood in front of them and suddenly she felt the anger rising at the emotionless girl.

‘What have we done?’ she gritted out the bitter sentence first time feeling like they did something wrong ‘we should protect innocent people not cause more damage!’

‘If it’s them or friend’s lives I prefer our friends!’ Cornelia turned around answering, but avoided her critical gaze. She looked pale, but determined.

‘There were not many choices…’ Irma concluded silently ‘we will have to take responsibility for it later… This, the awful thing Caleb did, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth…’

‘We have to hurry… Taranee is waiting for us.’ Cornelia abruptly decided. They started running not stopping until reaching the walls of the castle. Made out of massive chunks of dark rock it menacingly towered above them.

‘How did Will survive falling down this thing?’ Irma muttered looking above.

‘I have no idea…’ Hay Lin shook her head ‘I will take a look around.’

She gathered the flowing currents in the air and with silent beating of the butterfly wings raised into the sky. The petite girl darted around the wall like a wind, but could not go past it, there was a magic surrounding the palace grounds with an invisible dome. When she got closer, magic zapped her with a vicious charge instantly knocking her out of the air.

‘I don’t know if the magical dome is a recent thing or how Will managed to get past it the first time, but I cannot fly over this.’ Hay Lin frowned looking a bit winded as she corrected her wall, but still tumbled on her back.

‘If we cannot go above the dome, maybe we should go under it…’ Cornelia wondered and knelt on the ground placing her palms in the dirt. She keenly listened to the earth deciding where to dig the tunnel without it collapsing or encountering the big rock. Discovering the perfect place she closed her eyes and concentrated. When her palms glowed brilliant green, there was a deep rumbling sound and the ground trembled, soon beside the wall opened a chasm. The dirt swirled and grumbled soon constructing a narrow tunnel. Cornelia sighed and wiped away the sweat from the brow.

‘Come on, we have to hurry. I don’t know how long this thing will hold, the dirt here is very loose, even if I tried to reinforce the walls with rocks.’ She motioned to the girls and disappeared into the tunnel, Irma and Hay Lin followed. The sounds dulled underneath, there was no wind or light just a distinctive smell of dirt as it absorbed their steps. The path was barely tall and wide enough for one person to cross touching the walls and Hay Lin taken a breath of relief when it ended. She felt too claustrophobic encased in the ground.

Hay Lin closed her eyes for a second when the sun dazzled outside. Hearing a surprised gasp from Irma, she looked around. They were in a rose garden, and it was magnificent. So many various colors, they were wonderfully vivid, even a luscious grass looked like emerald carpet under her boots. Hay Lin wanted to sketch it, trying to place as much details in her memory as she could.

‘This is so unreal…’ Irma trailed looking around into all directions ‘this feels like another world’

‘It’s like everything here is perfect, not even a leaf out of place…’ Cornelia shuddered with uneasy feeling. Somehow this unusual place gave her shudders as if something was observing them. Irma paced around the rosebushes in clear curiosity, leaning close to one perfect bloom she beamed happily

‘Hey, nice! This one is blue!’ Irma reached out for a rose bud.

‘Don’t touch the rose!’ Cornelia shouted in alarm, but it was too late. Irma’s fingers brushed the exotic colored petal and she cried out when it cut into her skin. One red drop of blood fell to the ground. When it landed in the lush grass the lovely garden suddenly shuddered as if coming alive. Strange tension filled the air and there were silent whispers echoing around them from all directions. It seemed like the garden suddenly grown, and they could not see the sky anymore, just overgrown greenery.

‘Cornelia do something!’ Irma shuddered as they tried to reach the palace, but got lost into the labyrinth the garden has become.

‘I can’t! They do not respond to me! It’s like this whole place is so saturated with foreign magic plants refuse to listen to me! It is your fault anyway! You just had to touch the first thing you saw!’ she yelled in frustration when the roses surrounded them and their prickly roots slithered on the ground grabbing their clothes. There was a surprised shout from Hay Lin, and Cornelia saw how her friend had fallen with prickly vines wrapped around her legs.

‘Help!’ Hay Lin struggled on the ground as the barbed foliage forcibly dragged her away. She tried cutting the vines away with concentrated air currents, but they just multiplied by the second wrapping around the body. Irma ran up to her and started to ruthlessly tear off the greenery by hands. Unaware to her one climbing rose entwined the branches around her torso and soon Irma was hanging in the air tightly bound. Cornelia screamed seeing her friends loosing and trashed around as the overgrown garden enclosed her with no way out. Soon her face and mouth were filled with leaves, and she could hardly breathe trying to break free. Then Cornelia heard quiet laughter.

‘Well, well, well some rats got into the trap.’ the wickedly amused voice triumphantly declared.

Someone she could not observe clapped two short times and the rose vines loosened. Everything was over, they failed, with no way out. Cornelia silently apologized to her friends, vainly hoping that Will forgive them and their parents do not remember anything. That was the clause she asked from Kandrakar when Guardians first started to embark on missions. If they die, nobody will recollect them. It was much easier to disappear than mourn someone without a body or have a hope missing person will be found. Cornelia felt her heart clenching anxiously in fear she did not want to die. However, they danced on the knife edge for so long it was bound to happen sooner or later. She merely hoped her death will not happened today. Deciding to fight till the last breath, earth Guardian tumbled to the ground seeing the girls bruised, but alive next to her. Cedric stood towering above them with a creepy smile on his monstrous green face. He hastily acted casting a spell which encased girls in magical bubbles to capture them without much resistance when they were weakened. As he lifted sheer balls from the ground Cornelia trashed in her bubble trying to get out, but it was futile because the magic felt impenetrable. Slumping in defeat blonde girl looked around unfamiliar place as the monster transported them through the garden into the castle. Irma gazed at her bruised and bleeding hands felling defiant and angry at herself, if only she was more cautious. It was unpleasant to feel guilty, but she was responsible for this mess. If that cost the girls lives she will fight to death just to rescue her friends. Seeing the slithering monster in front of them, Irma wondered how Elyon could live here, in this fantasy world full of odd creatures and magic. She never cared much about her as the girl was stuck up and too proud for her liking, but betraying them to monsters was unforgivable. How could she? Next time Irma saw her, there will be a price to pay, if they were lucky enough to get out of this situation first. Hay Lin hugged her bruised knees trying to muffle the constant unrecognizable whispers in her sensitive ears. This garden messed up with her senses, the flowering plants were pumped with so much magic it made her dizzy. It was not a coincidence that Cornelia couldn’t use her magic here, this garden contained an essence of its own. Suddenly the air thickened with uncomfortable pressure. It was heavy, humid and heated, like before the summer storm hits after blistering hot day. The air vibrated and squeezed them down. Hay Lin could taste the foreign magic like the sugar and ozone mixed together and the whispering stopped. There was nothing just oppressive silence and peculiar tension as if everybody was anxiously waiting for something. Cedric stopped just before the private entrance into the dungeons and looked up frowning. His yellowish eyes widened for a second as the storm clouds rolled in the sky, heavy and dark, obscuring the sun with instant darkness. The deafening thunder boomed echoing around the city where the visible smoke from the fire raised above infusing with the storm clouds. Lightning flashed and for a second Hay Lin could swore it was pink mixed with green. Downpour started next.

‘This is unnatural…’ Irma whispered as the excessive rain poured from above so thick they could barely see anything.

‘You are right Guardian, my Lord, took care of the problems you caused…’ Cedric grinned shaking his drenched hair after bringing them inside. The stone was dry, and he left wet patches slithering downstairs until they could not hear the rain anymore or see any windows. Magical lanterns flickered on the rugged walls and dry cold air drafted through the tunnels. There were many doors and crossings. It seemed a labyrinth was built under the palace, but no sound or people were around. Cornelia counted the times monster changed directions around probably trying to confuse the route they were going. Yet after the eight turn she was lost to the same looking corridors. It was nothing she could do but wait until he let them out of those bubbles. Cornelia was afraid what awaited at the end of this journey. They went down another step of stairs when Cedric stopped and listened. Footsteps echoed somewhere in the dim light. It got closer and closer, and the girls saw Elyon emerging from the darkness behind her was another bubble with slumped Taranee.

‘What are you doing here?’ Cedric asked with evident anger in his voice ‘we agreed they should not meet!’

‘Well, after my dear friends made such spectacle outside I wanted to return the favor. Look at the wonderful present I have…’ she smiled, and the bubble gracefully floated into the light. Taranee was pale and had deep shadows under her unresponsive eyes. It seemed she was just a doll in the cage.

‘Say hello to your friends, Taranee’ Elyon eagerly ordered.

‘I don’t know them…you could just stop showing me these things…’ the girl mutter silently with scratched voice hugging herself and hiding the face.

‘Taranee!’ Cornelia screamed relentlessly pounding on the bubble wall ‘Are you alright? We need your help! Please!’

‘It’s us! We came for you…’ Hay Lin soothingly added seeing how her friend seemed so hopeless.

‘Pfff, we came for you…’ Elyon laughed with delight ‘soon you will be the same, until Will give up the Heart of Kandrakar! Where is she?’ she inquired Cedric looking around as if waiting for another girl just pop up from the wall.

‘Not here! And you will never get it!’ Irma spat out through gritted teeth. ‘Taranee wake up!’

The fire Guardian lifted her head there was a faint glimmer in her weary eyes. Yet, she barely said ‘Elyon it’s enough, I don’t want to see anymore… they are not real… nothing here is real… please no more…’

Cornelia narrowed her eyes her mind working quickly. How this could have happened? What did Elyon caused to her friend? Cold dread settled into her stomach. Is this what they did to Elyon too? Until she became this indifferent hateful person, she could not recognize anymore. A fleeting thought entered her mind. Taranee thought everything was a dream. If that was the case, she hoped Elyon knew nothing about their powers.

‘Please Taranee you are not dreaming… Will needs you… she’s sick…we need you!’ Cornelia concentrated and opened her mind conveying a telepathic message to the girl.

‘Read my mind! Wake up!’ she begged and pleaded again and again trying to reach Taranee. Then something happened, just for a moment fire Guardian’s eyes cleared and she frowned looking around. Her gaze landed on Elyon on them and Cedric, she clutched her head and moaned. Cornelia felt small tugging in her head and let her mind free, displaying everything what happened after Taranee was captured.

‘Elyon enough. Take her away!’ Cedric ordered frowning with his eyes concentrated on the Guardians.

‘No!’ Taranee furiously shouted lifting up in her cage. Her brown eyes were finally clear had a red sheen to them from considerable anger ‘Elyon, you are a liar! You are paying for everything you did to me! It’s very dangerous to play with fire!’

The world exploded in a fire as the suddenly enraged Guardian set everything on blaze. Cornelia and the girls got free from their prisons as they melted from the blistering heat. Taranee burned, her whole body was engulfed in flames licking her but not causing any harm. Elyon and Cedric hid under sheer shied she created as the violent onslaught of flames burned the corridor down and the explosive fire balls hurled around them.

‘What have you done? I told you they should not meet!’ Cedric screamed through the noise as the rumbling shook the walls and stones started to fall from above ‘Elyon, run!’

The two figures vanished as the tunnel collapsed around them, bringing stone and dust all over the place. Cornelia sheltered them from most of the damage allowing her powers guide the falling slabs into the small building to support the rest of the walls from collapsing. Taranee still hovered a few centimetres above the ground as if the hot air was holding her up. The fire slowly started dying down, and she suddenly like the string was cut off collapsed with a groan.

‘Taranee!’ Hay Lin knelt before her friend checking everything she could for any visible injures.

‘Hey you came…’ there was a slight smile on the tired girl’s face ‘take me home, please…’ she succumbed to sleep, spending almost every ounce of magic power she had on getting them free. Cornelia checked her pulse and sighed ‘she’s okay only sleeping from exhaustion. We have to move.’

Around them was a collapsed tunnel and darkness, there was a lot of dust in the air, but no more destruction from falling rocks.

‘Hay Lin, take Taranee and fly her above, then use the tunnel to get out of the garden. Irma we will have to run’ she coughed, but tried to appear relatively okay.

‘We kinda trapped here if you didn’t notice.’ Irma rolled her eyes, helping Hay Lin to lift Taranee up.

‘Not for long.’ Cornelia lifted her hands above spreading her palms. There was green light coming from her and the stones shuddered again. Sweat gathered on her dirty brow and she huffed as if lifting heavy weight. Gradually the ceiling moved heavy rocks floated and shifted until Cornelia almost collapsed on her knees, but there was a small light above and rain drops started fall from the narrow hole. She constructed a tunnel through the walls.

‘Go, Hay Lin. Fly and wait for us with Will.’ Cornelia said catching her breath. Hay Lin nodded and slowly lifted them both carefully moving the precious cargo into the sky. When they disappeared Irma looked at her.

‘What about us?’ she shook her head ‘How we are going to get out?’

‘Hop on the stone slab please…’ Cornelia said, already standing on the big fallen rock. When Irma joined her, she concentrated on the remaining magic and carefully searched the ground. Finding a few tiny seeds probably carried from above with the collapse she let her earth power loose and encouraged them grow. Vines upon vines twisted pushing the rock up into the hole until they rose to the surface. Cornelia looked at Irma and with determination as the rain drenched them both to the bone ‘Now we run!’

Irma nodded, and they ran streaking through the rain and garden like the silent shadows until reaching the city and taking a small break. For a minute they stopped in the silent streets taking a breath and then continued the journey to their friends waiting in the village. For once there was no time to think about what occurred or what will happen later. Guardians traveled with sheer determination to reach the safety, to see if everyone was alright and if they could finally go home. The rain continued drenching the earth until there was no other sound just the wind and raindrops falling all around hiding everything from sight.

I encountered a writer’s block… I don’t even know if my story is interesting enough. With so much plot holes… I guess there is no way Phobos/Will couple would work, because there is no reason for it… I don’t know, I’m starting to lose confidence in this story. Sorry… I’ll try.  
Also, I changed few things in firsts chapters. Guardians cannot fly anymore as they could not do that in comic (except for Hay Lin, she could magically lift her friends sometimes) until they had a second form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made some fan art... not my best work, but still... https://www.deviantart.com/itarile/art/Prince-Phobos-867410799


	18. Chapter 17

Will materialized in an unfamiliar room. It was small bedroom with pastel white walls and simple furniture. Naturally wondering why she was in the unknown place Will heard a hushed conversation behind the door and then an elderly woman entered, carrying a woven basket.   
‘Oh, you finally here. I was beginning to think you will not show up. Got tired at waiting.’ she bluntly said placing the basket on the table and taking out its contents. Various bottles and herbs were pulled releasing a gentle aroma across the place.   
‘Girl, why are you looking at me like that? You catch flies. Sit down, please,’ the gray-haired woman huffed with slight irritation.  
‘Excuse me, but who are you?’ Will asked with reasonable suspicion in her voice.  
‘My name is Alma, and I am a village healer. Your friends brought you here to the rebel base.’ the old woman politely explained.  
‘I see…’ Will sat on the bed suddenly suffering from the exhaustion of the few past hours, not knowing what to feel anymore. Everything Phobos did puzzled her but one thing she had to reluctantly admit, they had an attraction to each other in the most basic way. The things he could make her experience with just a simple touch were overwhelming. She could vehemently deny it, but the pull was there especially when he looked like a walking sin. Will bit her lip imagining the possible consequences if she stopped struggling with her own decision to stay away. It was tempting. Feeling his staggering power under the skin, how easily they merged the magic. The forbidden kiss which melted her from inside. The fact that Heart of Kandrakar responded to him, made her think Prince Phobos was something else. There was not an ounce of hidden malice in their interactions. Yes, he was quick to anger and liked to play cruel games… but evil... Will was unsure.   
‘Guardian, if you don’t mind, I would like to check for any lingering effects. The mind magic can be a delicate subject’ Alma sincerely requested standing beside her.  
‘Go ahead…’ Will sighed, it would be good to have a second opinion on things. The healer’s hands softly glowed massaging her head. The magic felt cold and pure, like spring water flowing through, maybe just a bit intrusive. The healer tutted and tapped her chest. Will shuddered felling like the ice cube slid down her back, straight to her toes. The sensitive soles started to burn and itch. Glancing at her feet Will saw a few glass shards falling out. Why she did not felt them sooner, she did never know and was too drained to care.  
‘Well, everything seems in order. The Prince sure knows his craft, always had a knack for it… pity, these days he’s more into destruction than creation…’ Alma muttered in evident disapproval.  
Caught off guard Will flinched out of woman arms standing in defensive position panicking inside. Was her secret discovered?   
‘How do you know?’ Will warily asked narrowing her eyes.  
‘Easy there girl, your secret is safe with me. The moment you were brought to me I had to perform a heath check and your thoughts was so ungraded it was extremely easy to slip inside. However, the mind magic is beyond my capabilities. That being said, just a few people have a capacity for it and some of them would disagree on principle. You could have died. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it will not be the case. I covered your disappearance, so stop doubting me and come. I prefer having serious conversations with a cup of tea.’ the healer turned around and motioned to follow, still a bit uncertain Will accompanied her.   
The house was modest and cozy, reminding of village cottages with calming colors and rustic furniture. In the kitchen the fire burned in the fireplace. Even when there was a more sophisticated stove, the kettle hung above the fire on the old-fashioned hook. Alma puttered going through the pantry and soon two mugs of berry tea and buns with a vegetable filling sat on the table. The elderly woman relaxed sitting down on the wooden chair and took a sip of the pleasantly aromatic tea. Will anxiously followed suit.   
‘Don’t be shy, you must be famished after spending so much magic’ she motioned to the food on the plate.   
Taking a bun and biting into it Will was delightfully surprised by the rich taste. The filling was hearty and spicy while the dough completely melted in the mouth. As she ate, comfortable silence filled the room with only crackling of the fire and rain outside to be heard.   
‘Being relatively younger than now, I worked in the castle as a medical apprentice and witnessed many things.’ Alma started the story and Will leaned closer in obvious interest.  
‘Prince Phobos did not have the easiest childhood. From the moment he was born the court held him at distinct disadvantage just because he was male and could not inherit the throne.’   
‘What? Why? That’s just sounds wrong…’ Will frowned at the social inequality.  
‘Is it different on Earth?’ Alma naturally asked intrigued about the life outside her planet.  
‘Well historically it was an opposite. Only the male heirs could inherit the titles and now we don’t have those anymore. Women are equal to men, and society selects who have the right to lead. People do not grant our leaders an absolute authority it’s still regulated by sharing the power between equal members. They act as advisers and law makers.’ she tried to explain and simplify the modern way of life, imagining it should be a novel idea to monarchy ruled people.  
‘Remarkable how different world works… to you we should look old-fashioned. You have to understand Metamoor is matriarchal society. We were always ruled by Queens and overtime some laws were more focused on women. It does not mean our men are in anyway lesser. They merely have other responsibilities. Now where I was?’ the old woman wondered lost in her memories.   
‘Phobos childhood…’ Will gently prompted her.  
‘Yes, well… the prince was an active child and despite the grumbling in the court at the firstborn male, everybody genuinely liked the boy. I repeatedly had to heal the scratches on his legs or arms, after all he spent most of the days playing in the gardens. Everything changed when Phobos was six years old. I don’t have the specific details, but there was an assassination attempt. Queen Weira was beside herself granting the old magical protection to her son or that was what we were told after noting the royal seal tattoo on his neck. However, the boy I knew changed. Gone were the charming smiles and childish exuberance, it was exchanged with calculating glances and calm manners. He spent most of the time in the library reading mountains of books, learning from private tutors and observing people. It was like he saw the world in different light. And his eyes… no child deserves to have such gaze… sometimes I pondered what happened to him to look more mature than any child and at the same time so full of wonder at the world…’ Alma sighed, slowly taking a sip of pleasantly warm tea.   
‘Why are you telling me this?’ Will was a bit puzzled. She wanted to hear more than the crumbs everybody knew. Nobody ever shared the details of their life with them, maybe because Guardians were outsiders to the Meridian, not used to their culture. Yet, there sat an old woman willing to talk about her memories.   
‘I am old, Guardian, and we elderly people are more than willing to share our life stories with the young listeners. Also, I have unintentionally breached your privacy, and you could use some advice. If sharing my knowledge could help there is no disadvantages in that.’ the healer smiled reassuringly.  
‘I’m more than confused… everything I know is fighting with my desires… what should I do?’ Will admitted putting head on the arms and hiding her face. It was too much and too fast. The confusing emotions were tearing her apart.   
‘I cannot give a satisfactory answer. You have to decide yourself between feelings, and a duty’ Alma shook her head looking at the Guardian. The girl was young, but it looked like she carried the world on her shoulders.  
‘What happened next? How did he become so hated?’ she asked in tired voice.   
‘That is a grim tale… It began when Queen Weira confirmed her second pregnancy. A joyful occasion was dimmed by the sudden death of the Royal Consort. A hunting accident. Many thought about a foul play, but there was no evidence proving it. The Queen was miserable and after the grand funeral was over her health plummeted. The court held their breaths in waiting. If the she died without a suitable heir, who would rule next? If a girl was born, there would be a new ruler. However, she will be too young to take the throne requiring a Regent until the child is of age. Queen Weira had a brother and a son, both were dismissed as unsuitable for their gender, so the scheming began. As healers we had no privilege to attend the court, but the infirmary is a good place to overheard things. From the rumors I gathered factions were easily formed and broken because everybody were competing between their noble rights even if the Queen was still alive.’  
‘Sounds awful…’ Will trailed lifting her head and listening intently. The house was silent even the pitter patter of the rain finally settled down to the calming drizzle.   
‘It was, believe me there is nothing worse than a room full of cunning women. The standstill changed on the night the princess was born. It was a difficult night. My teacher the royal doctor, myself and a midwife delivered a healthy baby girl, but the queen was weak. After making sure everything was alright we departed from the bedroom leaving them peacefully sleeping. I still have no idea what happened after we left. The only thing I know in the early morning hours an explosion rocked the whole castle. It was a violent backlash from the outburst of the magical power originating from an unexpected source, our prince. I found him hysterically screaming and crying in the middle of the rubble. The room around him was wrecked except the bed where his mother’s cold dead body lain. As soon as Phobos saw me, he instantly changed as if a switch was flicked, becoming silent and unemotional… There were no signs of the princess, and we feared the worst…’ an old woman pressed her wrinkled hands to an empty cup. She slowly stood up and went to kindle the dying fire, putting in firewood from the wicker basket. Will sat frozen on the chair trying to comprehend things. She did not know a whole story, but it was easy to imagine such tragedy. No wonder Phobos was so confusing, the sheer trauma experienced would have the serious consequences on any person. Was it the only reason for his actions? Probably not… you either become evil or are born one. Something niggled in her mind.  
‘How old was he?’  
‘Eight…’ Alma answered filling her cup with hot water and herbs. Sitting down and getting comfortable she continued.  
‘It took only one night to completely decimate the Royal family. Our beloved Queen was dead, the princess was missing and later we found Weira’s brother body in the rubble. The only one left was Phobos. The court came like an angry hissing nest of snakes, accusing him of allegedly killing his own family. There was no tangible proof of Prince’s guilt, but by being found at that place he was the sole witness and a suspect. The malicious rumors and lies were tattled outside and inside the palace. A monster, the devils spawn, a killer that was just a few names they called him and Phobos took it all sitting in frigid silence. An eight-year-old child who lost everything. Was he responsible? Nobody knows. The prince never talked about what happened that night, so the secrecy was taken as a proof of the crime. A week that’s how long the Court waited until they issued an order to throw him into the dungeon, to get rid of the last royal family member. The thing is everybody expected the Prince will go down willingly, because he was just a child. Oh boy, the old foxes were surprised when on the day of his mock trial Phobos showed up with an army on his heels. It was a coup. A child took control of their army and turned it against the Court. The magical power he excluded that day was staggering. Their worst fears came true. The child who everybody overlooked was more powerful than any woman in the palace, maybe except the deceased Queen. Phobos seized the throne as the last royal. It was his right not by birth but by the magic he could control. The first thing the young Prince did was abolishing the ancient laws which let inherit noble Titles only by women. He promised that to the army for their help in the coup. Phobos surrounded himself with the young eager Lords who were just too pleased by the changes to oppose him. One of them was Lord Cedric, a clever teenager which risen to power by his intellect alone. Another was general Vathek, a capable swordsman which men trusted. You can only imagine how the Ladies of the ruling class seethed in their own juices. A male child sat on the throne violating their birth rights and traditions. It was like spit in their faces.’ Alma stopped talking wetting the dry mouth and letting Will to form her own image of the chaos that reigned in the Meridian. It was easy to imagine as she did many history papers on the Kings and Queens of the Earth. The things Will only knew from reading actually happened here, not a long time ago. The differences in their worlds just become even more apparent and this old woman witnessed the history being written.  
‘I still don’t understand… Why Phobos cannot rule? I mean he has royal blood so without a doubt there exist a possibility?’ Will asked thinking about it from her own historical knowledge.  
‘It’s mostly to do with our beliefs and traditions. You see, every female ruler inherits the title of ‘Light of the Meridian’ along with the crown. Phobos could not claim that Title, because it is only works on the women. Essentially, he didn’t appoint himself as a King even if he could, strangely choosing to remain the Prince. Light of the Meridian is not just a noble name. The title grants a boost in magical abilities gifted from the Divine Guardian. We believe that a Sentinel born from the Planet itself, gifted the magical powers to the first Queen and they went from one ruler to another ever since. The Divine Guardian is our God. The oldest texts suggest he is a man. Others believe a woman and some say it is a genderless entity. Whatever form people choose, everybody believe in our Guardian and protector. Second reason is Kandrakar’s interference. The next day after the tragedy the Veil surrounded us. Meridian people are not much of the travelers, but we had trades with other Kingdoms and it was gone. We still don’t know why they enclosed us, but gave the nobles even the more reason to hate the new ruler.  
Third reason is in a few years Phobos took away the power from the nobles. First to go was inheritance laws, next ownerships of the lands and the last was increased taxes for the wealthy. Everything put together broken over boiled the pot. A rebellion was organized, but whatever old nobles thrown at him, Phobos remained steady and his magic grown even more. In the end they stepped on the line. After a few assassination attempts he executed half of the opposition, others were imprisoned for the treason. Oddly the execution was a private affair, but the remaining family members got the mementos confirming the fact of death. After that everybody feared to be next so everything relatively calmed down.   
Years passed and the kid I known, grew into a man. He was detached, cold and calculating, relying only on himself. But after the things experienced I am not surprised by that.   
Strange things started to happen all around the Metamoor. Droughts, unexpected storms, magic disappearing in certain places and crops withering, everything hit hard on the people. In the shadows rumors started about Phobos being a tyrant and usurper of the throne, the bringer of disasters. They talked about missing Princess the rightful heir, until she became the new shining hope. Silently the unrest started again ignited by the dissatisfied noble women. And the cat and mouse game began anew. Sometimes I thank the Divine Guardian that our princess grown up in a different world. At this place she would have become a pawn between two opposing factions, not a good position for any child to be.   
The rest is history people say. Kandrakar sent you Guardians to tip the scales for better or worse I do not know… Is your boundless curiosity satisfied?’ Alma asked concluding her story.  
‘Thank you… for telling me more than I ever wished for.’ Will gratefully nodded to the elderly woman ‘still, I have a question… How did you end up here?’  
‘Oh I retired… too old for a stuffy castle with lots of stairs. Still want to enjoy the rest of life in relative peace.’ she laughed merrily.  
‘But… after everything you are assisting the rebels?’ Will could not comprehend her reasoning. It seemed the old healer was fond of Phobos, but lived in the rebel village.  
‘I am a healer. I do not discriminate aiding those in need, be it a rebel or an army man. They just happened to choose my home village for a base. I guess it is remote enough not to be noticed… your friend, the blonde girl could be a decent healer she possesses magic for it, but her character…’ the old woman lightly shook her head in disapproving manner.  
‘Cornelia…’ Will was not surprised. Her friend always mended their injuries, but at the same time she was a bit hard to get friendly with her high and mighty attitude.  
‘I could talk to her about the opportunity…’   
The conversation was interrupted by the loud bang of the door and sound of a small feet running down the corridor. Soon a young village boy stormed into the kitchen panting for air.  
‘Missus, we need you! The Air girl is back, and she brought a friend.’ he captured the slew of healer’s dress tugging on it in hurry.  
‘Thomas, how many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering?’ Alma stood up and gently guided his hands down.  
‘She said it was urgent!’ the boy complained with a pout.   
‘Where are they?’  
‘By the well. I better run to my mom. Thank you missus!’ the child smiled and was gone like a little lightning. They heard another bang as the outside doors closed.  
‘I swear, that child never learns’ Alma said in expiration.  
‘Hay Lin is back?’ Will stood up wanting to go out but not knowing the way.  
‘Seems like it. Let’s take a look. Shall we?’ Alma ushered her outside after offering a well-worn leather sandals for the bare feet. Feeling oddly grateful for not having to go barefoot she followed the woman.   
The rain finally stopped and Will saw a few bright sunrays tearing through the dim cloud cover. The air smelled fresh and there were puddles scattered across uneven rock road. Wooden and rock cottage houses spread in various directions covered with vines and flower pots outside the windows. A quiet life of the hardworking people and at the same time armed men marched down into the fields. War. Is this what they brought down to their doorsteps? Maybe it was better if Elyon remained hidden even for a short time. People would gather under her flag, but the princess was nothing like they would expect. What would happen if Phobos disappeared? Are the old rules better than the new ones? Just how much the Guardians changed things with their influence over the skirmishes? And why does the magic felt so thin in the air? Will suddenly felt her mouth going dry. Did Phobos really kill his family? Her mind churned as all the facts she had seen and heard clashed inside like the angry rhinos.   
‘Will, don’t overthink it…’ gentle hands landed on her shoulders and she looked into the kind face of the old healer.   
‘I just don’t know what believe anymore…’ Will choked out the only thing she could at the moment feeling as if the world was closing down on her.  
‘If you ever need an advice from an old meddling woman, you know where to find me. My doors will be open. Now focus, your friends need you!’ she motioned to the small square where Will saw exhausted looking Hay Lin sitting down on the pavement with her back propped against wooden a wall of the well. Taranee’s was lying beside her with her head on the girls legs.   
‘Hay Lin! Taranee!’ Will ran to her friends feeling overwhelming relief seeing them again. Unconsciously she knew they were alive, but seeing and believing were not the same. She should have been with them and the guilt gnawed at her heart. Will knelt on the muddy ground checking them over. Despite being drenched to the bone both girls looked fine with no visible wounds.  
‘Oh my god! Will! You are alive! I was so worried…’ Hay Lin opened her eyes and smiled with whole face ‘I brought back Taranee and Cornelia with Irma should be on their way here. The rain was just a cherry on top for the flying…’ the dark-haired girl tried to explain why she was so tired. ‘Help me, please. We need to check on Taranee…’ she closed eyes again.  
‘It’s ok, Alma will help…’ Will trailed, allowing the healer to properly examine both girls. Her hands glowed as the healing magic traveled down their bodies.   
‘Besides good old magical exhaustion nothing is wrong with them. Good food and sleep should take care of things. Common, up we go!’ she helped Hay Lin to stand offering her a shoulder to lean on. While Will took unconscious Taranee on her back.   
Slowly the procession reached the house and Will helped both girls settle down. Alma provided towels and hot tea as Will helped to carefully dry Taranee cocooning her in the blankets.  
‘Let’s go to the kitchen it will be warmer there’ Will offered looking how Hay Lin patted down her long hair catching any lingering moisture. She was too tired to use magic on herself.   
Just as they situated in the comfortably warm space with hot tea in hands, the peace was disturbed again when two other girls invaded the room.   
‘Will!’  
‘You okay!’  
‘Where is Taranee?’  
‘How are you feeling?’  
‘Hay Lin you ok?’  
The noisy room was filled with never-ending questions. Hugs and smiles were exchanged as the girls were finally together comforting each other in their own friendly way.   
‘What’s happening? Why are you so loud?’ another drowsy voice asked from the doorway. Taranee stood there rubbing sleep from her eyes looking at the bewildered girls. And the cacophony started again with squeals and ramblings as they confirmed everybody was alive and well.   
‘Girls, can you be a little bit quieter?’ Alma requested placing food on the table ‘sit and eat, that’s an order from a healer.’ she said in stern voice reminding them of Yan Lin, another kind and wise grandmother.  
As everybody sat and partook in offered meal praising the cook for the delicious food, they discussed experiences of things that happened sharing the tales from their own perspective. Even if exhaustion clouded everybody’s eyes, the atmosphere was cheerful brimming with friendship and love despite all the unpleasant events. For a moment the girls were alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently editing the story so there is a few changes in some of the chapters. Since I am still not finished it, there will be more adjustments.


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